GIFT OF Felix J^'lu^el THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINE^ Official Records and Authentic Sources HISTORY FREEMASONS RELIGION POLITICS SOCIETY SPANISH FRIARS reforms A Reference Review By H. H. VAN METER PUBLISHED BY THE LIBERTY LEAGUE 1 66 South Clinton Street CHICAGO Copyright 1900 By H. H. VAN METER. Publisher's Note This book was in press early in September, but it was withheld from publication until after the presidential election, lest it might be mistaken for a campaign document. It was not intended for partisan or political purposes. It is a candid and conscientious presentation, aside from all partisan bias or sectarian prejudice, of the conditions ex- isting in the Philippines and the causes which have brought them about. Its statements are drawn from oflScial records and from other sources, the authenticity of which is beyond an honest doubt. It is offered to the public, not as a new sensation, but as a reliable review of permanent value. \/ FROM A LETTER OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN, AUGUST, IS, 1855. ((Complete Works, Vol. 1, page 216.) "When we were political slaves of King George and wanted to be free we called the maxim that 'all men are created equal' a self-evident truth; but now, when we have grown fat and have lost all dread of being slaves our- selves, we have become so greedy to be masters that we call the same maxim, 'a self-evident lie.' The Fourth of July has not quite dwindled away; it is still a great day — for burning fire-crackers!" FROM AN ADDRESS BY ABRAHAM LINCOLN, SEPTEMBER 11, 1858. (Reported In Chicago Daily Press and Tribune, Sept. 15, 1858.) "Our reliance is in the love of liberty which God has planted in our bosoms. Our defense is in the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as the heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere. Destroy this spirit and you have planted the seeds of despotism around your own doors. Familiarize yourselves with the chains of bondage, and you are preparing your own limbs to wear them. Accustomed to trample on the rights of those around you, you have lost the genius of your own independence, and become the fit subjects of the first cunning tyrant who rises among you." DEDICATION ** Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." — ^John 8:32. To you, who have the love of liberty in your heart, and to the cause of freedom for which our fathers and our forefathers fought and fell, and to all those who have been, who now are, or may yet be its defenders, in life, or in death, and above all to The Ordainer of true lib- erty for all alike, high and low, rich and poor, weak and strong, this book is dedicated, with the hope that these, researches in official and other authentic records may prove invaluable in the formation of a correct and con- scientious public opinion upon the all-important topics treated herein. 3 PREFACE. "Careless seems the great Avenger; history's pages but record One death-grapple in the darkness, 'twixt false systems and the Word. Truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne ; Yet that scaffold sways the future, and behind the dim unknown, Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above His own." — ^Lowell. The official records of the United States are full of in- formation of vital interest and importance to all patriotic Americans. It is often impossible for some of our best citizens to obtain copies of these documents when most desired. Frequently when access to them is easy, it is impossible for busy people to spare time to peruse them. For these reasons, this brief review of official records, concerning the Philippine question, has been prepared, supplemented by press reports and other public papers, upon matters of utmost interest and importance at pres- ent to every citizen. Neither partisan prejudice, sectarian bias, nor mer- cenary motives have prompted it, but a sincere desire to establish the truth. CONTENTS, INTRODUCTION ii Chapter. I. DISCOVERY, CONQUEST AND CONTENTIONS: Evidence of Prof. Dean C. Worcester, Mr. John Fore- man and Rev. Father Ambrose Coleman — Outrages of Religious Orders 13 II. RIZAL AND REFORMS: Evidence of Prof. Wor- cester, Mr. Foreman and Gen. Chas. A. Whittier — Friars Appropriate Property — Lack Titles — Tyrannical Land- lords 21 III. INSURRECTIONS AND CAUSES: Immorality and Brutality of the Friars — M. Andre, Belgian Consul, on Gross Injustice to Natives 31 IV. OPPRESSIONS BY THE FRIARS: Evidence of Gen. Whittier, Gen. F. V. Greene, Mr. Ramon Reyes Lala, Major Frank Bourns — Protest against Protestant Aggression 36 V. CATHOLICISM IN CHINA: Priests Usurp Political Powers and Clash with Chinese Officials — Rev. Father C. Frinn on Fortified Missions — Causes of Conflict 44 VI. FREEMASONRY AND FREEDOM: Freemasonry in the Philippines — Official Figures — 4,000,000 Katipunans Claimed — Petitioning Congress for Filipino Independence 52 VII. PROMISES OF INDEPENDENCE: Words of Admiral Dewey, Sec. Day, Con. Gen. Pratt, Con. Gen. Wildman, Gen. T. M, Anderson, Con. Williams, Gen. E. S. Otis and Pres. McKinley 55 VIIL FITNESS FOR SELF-GOVERNMENT: Testi- mony of Con. Gen. Wildman, Gen. Anderson, Gen. Chas. King, Lieut. John D. Ford, Admiral Dewey, Gen. Whit- tier, Gen. Lawton, Pres. Schurman, Prof. Worcester and Gen. Wheeler — Filipino Congress and Constitution 60 IX. FILIPINO CIVILIZATION IN LUZON: Wilcox and Sargent's Reports — Dewey's Official Endorsement... 71 5 6 CONTENTS. Chapter. X. AMERICAN CIVILIZATION IN LUZON: Official and Press Reports of First Blood Shed — Strict Censor- ship — Hundreds of Licensed Saloons — Brothels and Opium Dens 74 XL PEACEFUL, BUT PATRlOTICt Wilcox and Sar- gent's Reports Continued — Free Thought, Free Schools and Freedom in the Philippines 8"^ XII. THE FILIPINO NAVY: Official Statements of Gen. Greene and Aguinaldo — Co-operation of Americans and Filipinos at Subig Bay — Mutual Confidence 91 XIIL AN INTELLIGENT DEMOCRACY: Wilcox and Sargent's Reports Confirmed by First Philippine Commission — Independence or Death 97 XIV. SULU SAVAGERY: Evidence of Pres. Schurman and Gen. Otis — Ericsson's Experiences — British Consul Sawyer and Grand Duke Alexis on Filipino Refinement. . 99 XV. FREEMASONS AND KATIPUNANS: Origin of Katipunans — Report of Andreae and Reeves — Rescued by Freemasonry — Filipino Hospitality, Wealth and Refine- ment — American Prisoners Praise Filipinos — Freemasons versus Friars 105 XVI. FRIARS VERSUS FREEMASONS: Native Priests Revolt Against Spanish Friars — Excommunica- tion and Extermination — Gen. Whittier on Masonic Mar- tyrdom — Consul Williams on Awful Cruelties 113 XVII. AMERICAN MISDEMEANORS: Evidence of Gen, Otis, Gen. Anderson, Robt. M. Collins and John T. McCutcheon — Sec. Long Tired of Slaughter — Official Praise of Filipinos 120 XVIII. FREEMASONRY REVIVED: Manila Lodge- Saved by Masonic Badge — Freemasons and Native Priests Lead Filipinos — President McKinley versus Gens. MacAr- thur, Otis and Anderson — Masonic Struggles 129 XIX. AGUINALDO A NATURAL LEADER: A Ma- sonic Exile — Anecdotes of Aguinaldo — His Account of Insurrection of 1896, and Treaty of Biak-na-bato 136 XX. AGUINALDO NOT BRIBED: Vindicated by American, Spanish and Filipino Records — Mr. McKinley Misstates — Aguinaldo Declines Compromising Induce- ments 143 CONTENTS. 7 i Chapter. * XXL THE SULU SULTANATE: Orders to Gen. Bates — Mr. McKinley Misstates — Sulu Treaty and Salary List — Despotism, Polygamy and Slavery Sanctioned — A Mc- Kinley Myth — Moro Barbarities — Filipino Enlighten- ment — Schurman Scores Jingoes 152 i XXIL SOLDIERS DISSATISFIED: Official Reports- Discharge Demanded — Almost a Mutiny — Soldiers' Let- ters — Pres. McKinley's Misstatements — Pres. McKinley versus Gens. Anderson, Otis, MacArthur and Reeve — Lincoln versus McKinley — Poem, "The Flag of the Free" 163 XXIIL THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS APPEAL TO SPAIN FOR PROTECTION: Their Spiritual Charges — One Foreign Friar only vs. Every 10,000 Filipinos — Gen. Blanco's Ultimatum 176 ^ XXIV. BROKEN PROMISES, SPANISH AND AMERICAN: Treaties of Zanjon and Biak-na-bato — Alejandrino and Aguinaldo on American Promises 180 XXV. SPANISH AND FILIPINO PROCLAMA- TIONS: Gov.-Gen. Augustin's Tirade — Friendly Fili- pino Manifesto — America's Allies 184 XXVL THE PHILIPPINE REPUBLIC: Consuls Wil- liams and Wildman on Organized Republic — Another Mc- Kinley Myth — Cuban Conditions — Spanish Censorship — Monastic Tyranny 189 XXVIL OPPOSING THE WAR FOR FREEDOM: Spanish Sympathizers, Friends of the Friars, Financiers and Politicians Plot 195 XXVIIL CONGRESS DECLARES WAR AGAINST SPAIN: Cuban Resolutions — Papal Interests and Politi- cal Intrigues — Vast Stolen Estates at Stake 199 XXIX. CALL FOR FILIPINO CO-OPERATION COMPLIED WITH: Evidence from Consuls Wildman, Williams and Pratt — Filipino Leaders Return — 37,000 Filipinos co-operate — Dewey's Report — Aguinaldo's Hu- mane Decree 206 XXX. DECLARATION OF FILIPINO INDEPEND- ENCE AND REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT: Consul Williams' Report — Pope Ofifers Intervention — Filipino Presidential Messages — Aguinaldo Declares Monastic Corporations Cause of Troubles — Dewey's Of- ficial Dispatch 213 8 CONTENTS. Chapter. XXXI. THE FILIPINOS' VALIANT AND VICTO- RIOUS FIGHT FOR FREEDOM: Wonderful Victor- ies — Spaniards Surrender — Manila Surrounded — Dewey's Acknowledgment — A Pitiful Appeal 219 XXXII. THE CAUSES OF THE CONFLICT: British Occupation, 1762 — Default in Redemption — Bishop of j Oviedo on Troubles — Preaching Against Protestantism — J( Spaniards Tire of Fighting for Friars 224 XXXIII. THE BETRAYAL OF OUR ALLIES: An- other Andre and Dewey Divide Honors — Filipinos Faith- ful to Finish — Betrayed Under Orders — Acknowledged as Allies by Consul Wildman, Gen. King, Commander Brad- ford, Gens. Whittier, Anderson and Otis — Similar Tactics at Santiago — Garcia and Aguinaldo Protest — Poem, ''Freedom Forever! Freedoip for All" 231 XXXIV. PLOTTING FOR THE TREATY OF PEACE: Papal Prelates Active — Peace Protocol Violated 245 XXXV. RETENTION OF FRIARS FATAL TO PEACE: Intensely Hated by People — Nozaleda Ack- nowledges "Religious Orders Must Go" — Ireland De- clares Friars to be Retained .251 XXXVI. THE RELEASE OF THE FRIARS DE- MANDED AND REFUSED: Charges of FiHpino Cruelty Refuted by Dewey, Otis and Whittier — Otis Or- dered to Demand Release of Friars — Aguinaldo's Un- answerable Replies — Letters of Consul Williams and Murat Halstead 257 XXXVII. TREATY OF PEACE AND TITLE TO THE PHILIPPINES: Filipino Envoys Ignored— Release of Friars Required — Articles i, 2 and 3 — Spaniard's Sting- ing Rebuke — Lincoln's Telling Sarcasm 275 XXXVIII. FILIPINOS RESENT AMERICAN FRIENDSHIP FOR FRIARS: Otis' Official Evidence — Foremost Philippine Issue — Religious Liberty Betrayed — Excommunication of Aglipay — Ireland and Schurman on Issues 281 XXXIX. INTERESTS OF THE ROMAN HIER- ARCHY IN THE ISLANDS: Vast Possessions at Stake — Filipinos Petition Expulsion of Friars — Chappelle Ap- pointed Papal Delegate — Controverted Questions 285 XL. EDUCATIONAL AFFAIRS IN THE PHILIP- PINES: Gen. Otis' Official Report— American Catholic Circular and Chancellor Barry on Public Schools— Ireland and Republican Platform 294 CONTENTS. Chapter. XLI. CENSORSHIP IN THE PHILIPPINES: "The Manila Democracia" Suspends — "The Times" Threatened — "La Patria" Suppressed and Editor Imprisoned — Play, "For Love' of Country," Suppressed 299 XLIL THE TREATY OF PEACiE AND RELEASE OF THE FRIARS: Article 6 Requires Release of Friars— A Relieving Expedition 303 XLIII. RETENTION OF FRIARS RESENTED: A Re- ligious Revolt — Chappelle Favors Friars and Arouses Ani- mosities 312 XLIV. CHAPPELLE SEEKS TO RE-ESTABLISH. ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS: Mr. Foreman on Ec- clesiastical Jurisdiction 3^7 XLV. NOZALEDA DEMANDS CONTINUATION OF FRIAR DOMINATION: State Support of Church— Pa- rochial Administration— Cost of Hierarchy— Friar Frauds.321 XLVL FRUITS OF FRIAR CORRUPTION: Extor- tions — Licentiousness — Blackmail — Robbery— -Polygamy — A Friar's Romance — Inquisition and Acquisition 325 XLVIL COMMENCEMENT OF THE WAR OF CON- QUEST: First Shot Fired— Scenes of Carnage— Indis- criminate Slaughter 330 XLVIII. SUFFERING FOR FREEDOM'S SAKE: De- struction and Death — Pathetic Accounts — Murder, not War 336 XLIX. HOW A HERO DIED FOR FREEDOM: Gregorio Del Pilar — Robbing the Dead and Wronging the Living , 344 L. TERRIBLE STRUGGLE FOR RELIGIOUS LIB- ERTY: Heart-rending Trials — Religious Revolt Aggra- vated by Chappelle's Attitude 351 LI. CHAPPELLE'S RECEPTION AND ANTI-FRIAR DEMONSTRATIONS: Chappelle's Promises— "Otis and I" — "Away With the Friars" 359 LIL INDEPENDENCE OR EXTERMINATION: Aglipay Leads in Battle — Women and Children in the Ranks — Mr. McKinley's Colonial Model 365 LIII. WONDERFUL WORDS AND SPLENDID PRE- CEDENTS: Gov. Roosevelt on Golden Rule— President McKinley on Human Rights and Mr. Bryan on Anglo- Saxon Civilization — Capt. Leary's Colonial Model 369 10 CONTENTS. Chapter. LIV. THE DECREES OF THE COUNCIL OF TRENT, THE TREATY OF PEACE, AND OUR CONSTITU- TION ON THE RETENTION OF THE SPANISH FRIARS: Articles 8 and 9 of Treaty Fatal to Peace 376 LV. PATRIOTS WORTHY OF ALL PRAISE: Miguel Malbar's Message — A Patriotic Capitulation — Mabini. .. .38^ LVI. THE TREATY OF PEACE AND PROPERTY RIGHTS: A Queer Proposition— Article 8, a Blunder or Betrayal — Chappelle Replies to Gen. Funston — Monastic Conspiracy — Funston on Titles 385 L-VII. OFFICIAL WARNINGS— PAST AND PRES- ENT PRECEDENTS: Words of Wildman, Barrett and Williams — The Death Roll — Poem, ''Drape Your Ban- ners" — English, Mexican and French Precedents— Chap- pelle to Report to the Pope— Ireland's Message from the Pope to America ^Qj LVIII. WHAT WE SHOULD DO: An English Official's Advice— Countmg the Cost— Washington's Warning- Bishop Spaulding on Our Mission— Drs. Henson and Lorimer on the Declaration of Independence— Bishop Ryan's Prayer— Lincoln's Advice To-day— Poem, "The New Issue, The True Issue." ^oc LIX. RESULTS AND TENDENCIES OF OUR IM- PERIALISTIC POLICY: Mr. McKinley's Letter of Ac- ceptance—Slavery and Censorship— French Imperialists of 1776 and American Imperialists of 1900— Lincoln Root and Hay on Liberty— Lincoln versus McKinley— Words of 1 J"Jt7 T^a/^I^t':^'^^^"^ McKinley Compared-Vio- lated Faith-Mr. McKinley's Noble Words-The War not ?J.'r^ ru^'F^fl^/ ^^ligipus Liberty-Our Philippine Infamy-Chart of Manila's "curse of Civilization.". .....416 INTRODUCTION. "Truth, crushed to earth, shall rise again— The eternal years of God are hers; But Error, wounded, writhes in pain. And dies among his worshipers." — Bryant. To do our duty, for the present and future welfare of Spain's former possessions, whose freedom from cen- turies of terrible tyranny has been consummated by our intervention, we are, by honor bound, to do all in our power to correct their continued discontented conditions. To correct these conditions we must understand their past and present causes. To understand these causes we must know something of their pitiful past. Neither to listen to, look at, nor ask your attention to mere rumors from irresponsible parties, we refer our readers to official records or well authenticated accounts for confirmation of statements of facts as set forth in this volume, inviting the fullest investigation, and court- ing the most candid criticism. The pages of volumes and documents referred to, and dates of papers or periodicals quoted from, are given for further reference and full investigation. Three things are to be borne in mind in reading this book: first, that it is evidence, and as such contains quotations from various witnesses corroborative of the same points necessitating repetition of statements of facts to strengthen the testimony taken as to the truth. Second, Quotations to be trustworthy must be made literally, and these include both typographical and gram- matical errors taken word for word from the originals, for which we should not be blamed. 12 INTRODUCTION. Third, It being impossible to reprint all reports or articles referred to, in full, we are obliged to quote only/ those portions to the point, but refer our readers care- j fully to the originals where the full statements are made, I for investigation. Our purpose being to state the truth, ' the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, we adopt this only practical plan possible for so doing. The writer lays no claim to infallibility, and for this reason seeks, rather than to prejudice public opinion, to set the facts in the case fairly before the people, so they may judge for themselves. THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. CHAPTER I. DISCOVERY, CONQUEST AND CONTENTIONS. Though the romance of reality reached its climax on the cross-crowned hill of Calvary, that truth is stranger than fiction still, no one can doubt who has carefully studied the thrilling story of the terrible struggle for lib- erty in the Philippines, which is presented herein, as briefly and pointedly as possible. That no one may think imagination has been over- taxed for facts, or fancy flown wild for fiction, with which to fill this book, eye-witnesses of the recent events referred to will be quoted, whose words we ask our read- ers to consider in the light of conscience and reason. Prof. Dean C. Worcester, a member of both the first and second Philippine Commissions, in quoting the first of these witnesses upon page 343 of his book entitled, "The Philippine Islands," wrote: 'T ask my readers to bear in mind while weighing his testimony, the fact that he is himself a loyal Catholic," — referring to Mr. John Foreman. As Mr. Foreman had resided for years in the PhiHp- pines, and traveled throughout the islands both for busi- ness and literary purposes, he was perfectly familiar with his subject, as an eye-witness of what he wrote. Being "himself a loyal Catholic/' according to Prof. Worcester, as are a vast majority of the Filipinos proper^ his evidence, which was presented to the Paris Peace Commissioners, can be considered free from Protestant 13 14 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. prejudice and a fair statement of facts and opinions, from a Catholic point of view, at least. Upon pages 585-6-7 of Senate document No. 62, part 2, of the official records of the Fifty-fifth Congress, can be found portions of an article written by Mr. John Fore- man, the foremost authority upon the Philippines, dated Hamburg, June, 1898. The following quotations are taken from his evidence, word for word, as found in the official report of the Paris Peace Commission presented to the United States Sen- ate on January 4, and ordered printed in official records on January 13, 1899: "The history of the Philippines is extremely interest- ing; but, like that of most Spanish settlements, its pages record far more deeds of strife, treachery and oppression than of glory to the rulers, or happiness to the ruled. Space will not allow me to take more than a rapid glance at the most striking incidents. "At the dawn of the sixteenth century the Pope had been complacent enough to dispose of the known and unknown universe. Taking Cape Verde as the starting point, the Western Hemisphere was given to Spain, and the Eastern Hemisphere to Portugal; that is to say, all newly discovered lands within the limits defined, hence- forth came under the respective influences of Spain and Portugal, with the papal blessing, and on condition that the foremost consideration in the colonizing scheme should ever be the sdvation of souls. Every act of the pioneers primarily, and of the established colonial gov- ernments which followed, was absolutely subjected to the dominant interests of the church. "The crown of Spain itself was nominally in the gift of the Pope. Hence, while no expedition could sail with- out the royal warrant, the benediction of His Holiness was that which most charmed the warrior, who, zealous as he might be, in the service of his King, felt that he carried with him a still more sacred mission from Heaven. No doubt every Castilian soldier was guided DISCOVERY, CONQUEST AND CONTENTIONS. 15 by those same feelings which finally inspired Ignacio de Loyola to hang up his sword in the little Basque church and seek that 'end which justifies the means.' The spirit of the times, too, was that of chivalry, a thirst for ad- venture, a love of conquest and domineering sway, only kept witL'n bounds by the superstition and fanaticism of the age. But a more material incentive fired the enthu- siasm of the lower social orders. The soul-stirring tales brought back from the newly-discovered world beyond the great Atlantic, the sight of the treasures wrested from the possession of the infidel Aztecs and Incas, bore an influence as potent on the minds of the masses as the highest ideals of religious chivalry which inflamed the ambition of the leaders. 'The treaty of Tordesillas, which embodied the will of the Pope above referred to, had for its real motive the laudable and peaceful object of terminating the rivalry between Spain and Portugal. It only partially suc- ceeded, however^ for while the Spaniards and Portuguese agreed to navigate only in their respective spheres, even the Pope himself was unable to determine the line of longitude dividing these spheres of influence at the other side of the globe. And this is where the point of dispute arose which indirectly brought about the discovery of that group of islands since known as the Philippines. Each nation claimed that the Moluccas, or Spice Islands, fell within its half. "Then there appeared on the scene in the Portuguese court a certain cavalier, named Hernando de Maghal- lenes (Ferdinand Magellan), who, having failed to secure the attention of the King to his scheme for a voyage of discovery, offered his services in the Spanish capital. Here, after many tedious delays, he was permitted to approach the Spanish King, Charles I, who, in the, end, gave his royal assent to the discovery of a western route to the Moluccas. A fleet was fitted out, and sailed, under the command of Maghallenes. It was in this voyage that he discovered the channel now known to the world as the Straits of Magellan. The Pacific Ocean was crossed, the Ladrone Islands were visited en route, and eventually Maghallenes found his way to an island i6 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. v/hich now forms one of the Philippine Archipelago, namely, Cebu. * 'After a series of negotiations with the native king, he declared the King of Spain to be the suzerain lord. Then he went to fight the battles of his master's new liege, and was unfortunate enough to be fatally wounded by an arrow. Half a century had passed away, when in 1570 a new expedition was sent out from Mexico to an- nex the island discovered by Maghallenes, and the group known to be adjacent from information received from the crews of Maghallenes's fleet. The leadership was confided to Miguel de Legaspi, who proceeded to Cebu Island, and after protracted efforts and arrange- ments declared the island to be under the suzerainty of the King of Castile. Here he founded a colony and in- itiated the disastrous policy of favoring the intermarriage of Spaniards with natives, under the mistaken impression that it was the true means of drawing closer the ties with the conquered race. Then having heard that there was a kingdom of Maynila within a few days' sail, he went in search of it and found himself in Borneo, in the Sultanate of Brunei. There he was informed that trad- ers came down with all sorts of fine goods, including silks and other fabrics, so, with more or less crude sailing directions, he broughl his ships up to Manila. "The King of that place peacefully accepted the treaty offered, including the suzerainty of the King of Spain, and in 1571 Legaspi proclaimed Manila to be the capital of the Philippines, in lieu of Cebu, which place, how- ever, remained thenceforth an episcopal city." From the^foregoing facts it is plainly seen how Spain obtained her title to the Philippines from the Pope, which we "purchased" from her. To show how she pro- ceeded to appropriate the islands for her own purposes, we continue to quote from Mr. Foreman, but desire, be- fore doing so, to remind our readers that he is a Roman Catholic, that they may not feel the statements maue are unfair to that church: DISCOVERY, CONQUEST AND CONTENTIONS. 17 *The theory which soothed the consciences of the first mihtary leaders, was, that either the soul must be prepared for salvation in the living man, or the body must be annihilated. For generation after generation raids were repeatedly made on natives for the crime of passive resistance to what they could not comprehend. With the cry of 'Viva Castila!' bands of Spanish soldiers opened the way with blood, for the monk to enter into the breach and palliate the wound with silvery phrases to the terror-stricken converts. The cry of Castila came to represent everything that was terrible beyond all hope of mercy, and was, and is to this day, used in that same sense. Castila in the north and Cachila in the south mean the same, and often in the rural districts I have heard the cry of fright, 'Castila!' as a child noticed me approaching. Mothers, too, in my presence, have often made their children cease crying by pointing toward me, and pronouncing in subdued tone the dread word, 'Castila!' " Thus it is seen how, in the name of humanity and civ- ilization, and professedly in the interests of Christianity, the first conquest of the Philippines was carried on for centuries, till the battle of Manila Bay on May I, 1898, began, as we believed, a new era there. Mr. Foreman continues as follows: "After years of study of the native character, I have come to the conclusion that the Philippine Islander is very matter-of-fact." * * * "He likes to be as free as. a bird, but he is of a pliant nature and easily man- aged with just treatment. He is extremely sensitive to injustice.! If he knows, in his own mind, that he has done wrong, he will submit to a thrashing without any thought of taking revenge. If he were punished out of mere caprice, or with palpable injustice, he would always have a lurking desire to give a quid pro quo. He has an innate contempt for cowards, hence his dis- dain for Chinese, but will follow a brave leader any- where, and will never be the first to yield to hunger, fatigue or possible chances of death." i8 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. Regarding the government imposed upon them by Spain from the first, Mr. Foreman states on the follow- ing page, 588: "For about a century and a half after the foundation of Manila the provincial government was handed over to the mercy of low class adventurers.' A common sol- dier would be rewarded for his services with an encorn- ienda, i. e., a tract of land over which, together with the natives settled thereon, he had almost absolute con- trol. The lives of the natives became a perfect misery. Successive reforms brought first a functionary who was at the same time governor, judge, and licensed trader. "The abuses were so glaring that, after long entreaty, he was superseded by a judge-governor, and I remem- ber when, a few years ago, these offices were divided. "The commercial history of the Philippines would be too long to relate here in extenso; suffice it to say that it is a series of struggles between the colonists, who sought liberty to trade freely with Mexico and China, and the Spanish King and his councilors, and the trad- ing community in Spain, who determined to curtail that freedom as much as possible. The policy of the Span- ish merchant class was to hold Mexico as their exclusive market. They opposed Philippine traffic with China because this necessitated silver dollars, which they knew must come from Mexico surreptitiously, if the islanders were not openly permitted to give goods in exchange. "The famous galleons, which were so frequently inter- cepted and seized by British privateers from the days of our Queen Elizabeth onward, formed the only connec- tion between Mexico (Acapulco) and Manila. The reg- ulations for shipping were, however, so restrictive that only the favorites of the authorities ever secured a chance. The arrival of the galleon in Manila Bay was the event of the season, or the year. For the Europeans it was a sort of Robinson Crusoe life, with additional possible dangers. "The ferocious (at times bloody) contentions between church and state authorities were enough to obliterate all the mgral prestige which the Spaniard ever h^4 or GOVERNMEKT AND COMMERCE. 19 might have had among the natives. The galleon usually brought, together with the Mexican dollars, fresh re- strictive royal decrees and a motley crowd of all sorts and conditions of men; friars who had to relate how they had saved the ship from total wreck by an appeal to the Virgin; a mob of notaries who had bought their offices in public auction in the City of Mexico; some dig* nitary who was destined to fan the flame of discord; perhaps a crowd of low type fortune-seekers, and last, but not least, a mysterious individual of gloomy aspect, whose mission none understood, but who turned out to be the official 'snake in the grass' — a spy from the holy office of the Inquisition — a social scourge." As these are the words of a loyal Catholic, they can not be construed as an attack upon that church, the object of this review being the exact opposite of any such purpose — the perpetuation of civil and religious liberty, under the free flag of America. But lest some one should say or even suspect that Mr. Foreman is alone in his position as a Roman Cath- olic layman, we will quote from a book recently pub- lished in Boston by a Roman Catholic priest, the Reverend Father Ambrose Coleman, who writes regard- ing the second expedition sent out for the conquest of the Philippines as follows: *'As PhiHp II. was inspired by religious zeal, and his principal and perhaps only object was to spread the light of the Gospel, six Augustinian friars accompanied the expedition. We may say with truth that it was these missionaries, and others who followed in rapid suc- cession, who conquered the archipelago for Spain. The religious orders planted themselves firmly in the colony, and spread themselves everywhere, winning the natives to Christ and keeping them also in loyal obedience to the great European power by whose means the mission- aries had been sent to them. They were thus the real bulwarks of Spanish power there, which was kept up rather by gentle persuasion than by force of arms," 20 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. In regard to the rottenness of the Spanish regime, Rev. Father Coleman writes as follows: "In five years Governor-General Manuel de Arandia amassed a quarter of a million dollars; a successor. of Arandia, within the last few years, is reported to have made $700,000 in a single year, while another is com- monly said to have placed millions to his credit during a short term of office. Men talk openly in Manila of bribing judges to put cases ofif and off. Little wonder then that, with such a state of rottenness, bribery, and corruption obtaining, the missionaries on the remote stations have, in the interests of the people, looked after their worldly affairs." On page 589 of Senate document No. 62, part 2, Mr. Foreman continues : "I have so far only alluded to the civil and military government, which is virtually nothing more than the executive of the ecclesiastical authority. The real rulers of the islands are the four corporations of friars — namely, the Austin, Dominican, Franciscan and Recoleto orders. Their influence has been predominant since the founda- tion of the colony. In times gone by there have been most fierce contests between the governors and the monastic orders, in which the former have almost in- variably been the losers. One governor-general, Busta- mente, was murdered in his palace at the instigation of the holy friars, who followed up his dead body, and hooted as it was being dragged through the streets of Manila. They caused Governor-General Solano to be poisoned. Only last year a certain Father Piernavieja, who had committed two murders in the provinces and was still permitted to say mass, was put to death by the rebels. Any governor-general who displeases the monks is recalled. In recent times. General Despujols had to leave in 1892, after eight months of office, be- cause he ceased to be a persona grata to the priests. A native. Dr. Rizal, had written and published some facts about the monastic orders, and Despujols refused to have this man put to death for it. Then, again, he or- RIZAL AND REFORMS. 2i dered a search to be made in a convent of the Austrian friars, and there found a printing press and seditious leaflets being printed for the priests, who intended, by distributing them, to attribute to the natives an at- tempted revolt. General Blanco (now" in Havana) was recalled at the instigation of the friars, because he proved to be too humane for them when the rebellion broke out. Finally they succeeded in having appointed a governor-general after their own hearts, Camilo Pola- vieja, through whom they had the Dr. Rizal above mentioned executed in Manila in January of last year. His widow was a Hong Kong American girl." CHAPTER H. RIZAL AND REFORMS. The story of the life and death of Dr. Rizal, one of the foremost of Filipino patriots and martyrs, is one of the most remarkable and romantic in history. He was a man of great genius and rare talents, with an unlimited love of liberty. Having had every advantage of edu- cation which Manila could afford, he afterward went to Europe to continue his studies and complete his medical course, graduating in Spain and Germany, and becoming one of the most expert oculists of his time, with a world- wide reputation. His literary works in the interests of liberty were wonderful revelations of the rottenness of the Spanish regime. His fearless attacks on the friars for their licentious life, corrupt practices, and outrageous robberies, made them his mortal foes. Thereafter they followed him with fiercest hatred till they caused his death, through their usual treachery. Governor-Gen- eral Despujols, being determined to see some sort of justice done to the natives, took their part against the Spanish priests and friars, being as fair as he found it possible to be under the circumstances, and during his 22 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. friendly rule Dr. Rizal returned to his native land. He at once began to champion the rights of his people, and to oppose the outrageous wrongs perpetrated upon them. As "a loyal Catholic" he charged the friars with violating the laws of that church in holding incumben- cies contrary to the conditions of the Council of Trent, also with robbing the people of their lands, and holding them without right or title. On page i8 of his book, 'The Philippine Islands and Their People," Prof. Dean C. Worcester, the American Philippine Commissioner, states that the most formida- ble rebellion that ever occurred in the Philippines before 1896 was that of Cavite in 1872, which was defeated through a mistake rendering it absolutely abortive. Mr. Worcester states that "hostility to the Spanish friars was at the bottom of this uprising." He also adds: "A certain Dr. Burgos had headed a party which demanded fulfillment of the decisions of the Council of Trent prohibiting friars from holding parishes. These provisions had never been carried out in the Philippines, and the various orders were steadily growing more rich, powerful, and arrogant." In the report of Mr. Foreman's oral evidence before the Paris Peace Commission, as found upon page 446 of Senate document No. (^2, part 2, of the Fifty-fifth Congress, may be found the following statements, with questions and answers: 'The case against the friars (the Spanish priests) is this, and it showed itself in a little outbreak called the rebellion of Cavite, in 1872: The secular clergy (mostly native priests) — these monks are the regular ordained clergy (or Spanish friars) — claimed, under the conditions of the Council of Trent, that these monks, as mission- aries, were not entitled to hold the incumbencies; that by a papal bull which settled this matter when it was TITLES TO LAND. 23 raised, these monks were allowed to be only mission- aries, and could only open and establish missions, but that when these missions became parishes, and when the people around them adopted the Catholic faith, they should then retire from these parishes and the incum- bency should be taken by the secular clergy. "Q. What do you mean by 'incumbency'? A. The position occupied by the parish priest — the incumbency of the parish. "Q. The titles to lands are usually in the hands of these monks? A. Yes, sir; they hold large tracts. "Q. How did they get these lands? A. Usually they simply took possession — appropriated it. They have in their orders what are called 'brothers.' There are 'fathers' of the orders and 'brothers.' 'Brothers' are simply persons who have taken certain vows, but who are not allowed to celebrate mass — simply workmen — and they put these in charge to take possession of the land. "Q. They took possession. Did they have no decree from the Spanish Government, or the Governor-Gen- eral, authorizing them to take possession of the land? A. Not at first. Subsequently they received decrees, but never could they get title deeds, owing to the op- position of the natives." Referring to one parcel of these lands. General Charles A. Whittier, who received the surrender of Manila from the Spaniards, and was afterward collector of customs of that port, made the following statement in his evidence before the Paris Peace Commission, which can be found upon page 492 of Senate document No. 62, part 2, of the official records of the Fifty-fifth Congress: "There is an enormous tract of land on the Laguna, on the market, held by the priests. They wish to sell it for $1,700,000. It is an enormously productive coun- try." On page 374 of the same official record is a memoran- dum made by General F. V. Greene, of the United M THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. States Volunteers, who also participated in the capture of Manila. His evidence, which was presented to the Paris Peace Commissioners, was entitled, "A Memoran- dum Concerning the Philippine Islands," and states: "These friars own the greater pg^rt of the land and have grown rich by oppressing the native husband- man." But to return to Roman Catholic testimony, we turn back to pages 446 and 447 of Senate document No. 62, part 2, of the records of the Fifty-fifth Congress, and resume with Mr. Foreman's oral examination as follows: *The Chairman: "Q. They (meaning the natives) do have title deeds? A. Yes; but it was such a long, ponderous matter that they have given up the idea. *'Q. These titles were not recorded? A. No, sir. ''Q. How did it work or was it operated? A. They (meaning the friars) let the land out in parcels for rent, called canons. The man to whom they were rented held them generally for three years — that is, usually, I think — over all these estates three years' holdings. No guaranty of any kind passed. At the end of the three years all improvements made by the man in possession, the tenant, were capitalized by the corporation, and they say that they regard the land is of so much more capital value, on which they base the rent, and require a higher rental. So really they steal the fruits of the labor of the tenant, and they charge a new rent on the new valua- tion, and this new valuation has come from the work of the tenant. The natives kick very much at this; it is a very sore point with them. ''In the Province of Laguna, where the Dominican corporation had their lands, they even pretended so far as to say that cane mills and machinery for crushing the cane should be left on the estate if you go out at the end of your three years and do not renew your lease — that you should leave them the machinery. A very great question arose, and then there appeared a certain TITLES TO LAND. 25 man called Dr. Rizal, who was executed in the first week of last November or the week previous, and he went down to his native town and raised this question as to title straightway with the Dominican order, and he said: 'Show us your title deeds; it will satisfy me and the people around here, and it will be better for yourselves, because it will restore peace and order, and it will not do you any harm;' and they could not show their title deeds." On pages 462-3 of the same document, in Mr. Fore- man's examination, are the following questions and answers: "O. If that exodus of the friars (speaking of their possible expulsion), these priests, was carried out, either voluntarily on their part, or with some degree of com- pulsion applied to them, what disposition would" be made of their holdings of land: what would become of the land? A. What the natives, I think I may say pretty decidedly would aspire to, would be that the land should be declared to be the possession of those actually in possession as tenants to-day, holding it in rent from these corporations. It is let in parcels. They would say, The priests are gone, let us, as we stand, hold the land;' and with very little disturbance at all the man in possession holds his patch. "Q. They hold by a title now? A. Only by a con- tract with the priests. ''Q. I mean the monastic orders hold by a title. A. No, sir. That is to say, I draw my information from this source — that Dr. Rizal challenged the priests to bring forward their title deeds. He said: Tf you will exhibit your title deeds, it will be satisfactory for you and for us; I shall be satisfied, my agitation will end, the people interested round about will be satisfied, and you certainly will insure to yourselves tranquillity by settling this matter on the exhibition of your title deeds,' and they could not do it. They would go to the length of intriguing for three or four years to bring- about the execution of this Dr. Rizal, rather than show 26 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. their title deeds, and we can only surmise that the title deeds did not exist. "Q. How long have they been flourishing there and holding these titles, so called? A. I can not say. "Q. It is an old business? A. Yes, sir; very old. "Q. Would not the church claim the land? A. It would belong to the order. For instance, the order of Augustine Friars would be the owners in collectively o{ those lands (i. e., the claimants); you would not be troubled by any individual claims. "Q. The church as a corporation? A. The cor- poration of friars. "Q. Would they not claim to succeed to the title by the Bishop? A« O, no; the corporation of the friars is quite distinct. "Q. Suppose they go out? A. If all the friars go, they might as well remove. their establishment. "Q. The orders that now claim the title would still claim to own the lands, although their people were not there, would they not? A. I should think not. "Q. What would become of the land then? A. Confiscate it from the orders. "Q. On what ground? We have no law which will allow us to arbitrarily do so. A. They have no title deeds, and it would not be confiscation exactly. *'Q. They have a possessory title? A. Yes, sir. **Q. Have been in possession for a hundred years or so? A. Yes, sir; but it would be a great anomaly to have these native planters working these different patches of land and have a religious corporation claim- ing the lands. I would rather take the bull by the horns and say: 'You clear out!'" As Mr. Foreman is a Roman Catholic, his can not be considered Protestant or sectarian prejudice. As he has lived long in the Philippines he has become perfectly familiar with afifairs there and is thoroughly posted. His account of the controversy between Dr. Rizal and the friars, and the cause of his banishment, is of great RIZAL BANISHED. 27 interest, to be found upon page 449 of the same docu- ment, as follows: "This man, Dr. Rizal, who went down and raised the point of the deeds, etc., with the monks, had been to Europe and had studied in Germany. He was a very clever man, quite an exception to the general rule, and had published three books against the priests — one called 'Noli me Tangere,' another Tilibustero,' and an- other was a reproduction of a book written by a priest years ago, who was also an exception. For this he was looked down upon by the priests as a disturbing ele- ment. Ke came to Hongkong, and from there he was cajoled to Manila on the promise that he would not be molested. He went there to the Governor-General, but they detained his baggage and pretended that he carried incendiary leaflets for the purpose of raising a rebelHon. 'The priests required that he should be executed, but the governor-general refused to allow it; said that it was utterly impossible that he should be executed for what he had written, and refused. All they could get out of the governor was: 'Very well, you are banished to the island of Mindanao.* This is the place to which he was banished, and where he remained for four years, Dapitan. I saw his little hut there on the bay, and vis- ited him there. That displeased the priests very much. They had strife and questions between them and the governor-general, and the latter said: T am going to see how you are working,' and, all of a sudden, he had a raid made upon the residences of the Augustino monks in a place north of Manila, and had the place suddenly seized and raided, and it is very well known that he found a printing press printing these same in- cendiary leaflets, and the priest who was employed in doing so was perfectly well known to everyone in Mail- aban." Dr. Rizal's renown as an oculist had reached the Orient, and patients came to him for treatment from far and near, among them a rich American from Hongkong, 28 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. accompanied by his foster daughter, whose charms won the heart of young Rizal. The young lady reciprocated his affections, and when the doctor returned to Manila, the father following for further treatment, the daughter went with them, remain- ing faithful unto death, when her betrothed was sen- tenced to be shot as a Masonic insurrectionist. One writer states that while he helped her father's eyes, her beautiful eyes were too much for him, but however that may have been, they were married just before he was led forth to die, and knelt together in earnest prayer on the prison floor, till the fatal hour of parting and death. She then took his place as the heroine of the insur- rection, even leading the insurgents like a veritable Joan of Arc into battle. Tenderly she cared for the sick and wounded and dying; and fearlessly she faced the Spanish soldiers in the field, inspiring the Filipinos with her own dauntless courage. After bloody battles had been fought, as bravely she returned to Manila and faced the officials there, and when the governor-general asked her where she had been and what she was doing there, she astonished him by frankly telling him the truth. It is said that afterward she came to America to plead for the Filipinos in their struggle for freedom, and then re- turned to them in the troublous times that followed, and that now she is acting as a teacher in Manila, a brave, true-hearted American girl. In connection with the story of the life and death of Dr. Rizal, we quote herewith an interesting account from "The New Orient" of Manila, dated December 2, 1899, relating incidents in his romantic life, and referring to the touching scenes at his death. The writer therein claims that Madam Rizal was of RIZAL PUT TO DEATH. 29 German origin, while Ramon Reyes Lala claims her father was an Irishman, which might be the case, and she still be an American girl, as all other accounts seem to agree, this being true of thousands of American girls. He also varies the story somewhat in regard to his going to Dapitan ''on the advice of his friends," and this doubtless was true, too, but it is supposed to be a very mild way of stating the fact that he was deported by the orders of friendly officials: ''A good many still remember the 31st of December, 1897, the day on which the man was put to execution, who, true to the last, died a martyr's death. Dr. Rizal, bornofaChinese father and Indian mother, received his early education at the Jesuit school in the walled city. Showing signs of great intellect, the fathers advised him to go to Europe and enter a university there. Rizal chose beautiful Heidelberg and soon became a favorite with his teachers and fellow students. During his stay in Heidelberg he made the acquaintance of Emperor William the First of Germany, who expressed his great interest in Rizal's book, "Noli me Tangere." In this book Rizal endeavored to give a full description of friar life, public and private, and by doing so made them his enemies for life. ''It was during this period the writer made Rizal's ac- quaintance which ripened into a strong friendship, and many vacations w^ere spent together at the writer's home with his family. Rizal had adapted himself wonderfully to German student life and had quite a high reputation as a fencer. With an autograph letter from Emperor William I. to Governor-General Terrero, Rizal returned to Manila. "Although he received a hearty welcome at the hands of the governor-general and the friends of his childhood, it could not be disguised that his life was in danger as long as he remained in Manila. Acting on the advice of his friends he finally left Manila for the Island of Dapedan. The governor of this island being a great 30 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. friend of his, his Hfe there was a pleasant one. It was there that good luck followed him, when he won with the governor the first prize in the Manila lottery. **Soon afterwards he again returned to Manila in dis- guise and at once took passage for Spain. In the mean- time the friars had discovered his whereabouts and tele- graphed for his arrest on the charge of high treason; and for his immediate return to Manila. Rizal, well knowing what this order meant, tried to get the present emperor's intervention with the Spanish government on the base of his friendship with Emperor William I., but did not succeed in getting the assistance wished for. On his arrival in Manila he was at once imprisoned and was put on trial for high treason against the Spanish gov- ernment. During the trial it became evident that far from wishing to incite the Indian population to rebel against Spain, he^ advised them to remain faithful and true to their old benefactors, but to throw off the yoke of the friars, whose oppression threatened to crush en- tirely the Indian individuality. When the- friars found their cause was as good as lost, rumor has it, they bribed the judge with 300,000 pesos to bring in a conviction which would mean a traitor's death for their victim. It is well known they succeeded, and on the 31st day of December Rizal's public execution took place. "We are sure most, if not all, our readers have seen pictures, and heard the details of the sad scene on the Luneta, when one of the noblest men of the century bravely met his doom, true and faithful to the cause to which he had devoted his life; they have also heard of his marriage to a German lady, which took place in prison, an hour before he was led to his death. Refusing the carriage offered him, he walked from the prison to the execution ground accompanied by his wife and fam- ily. To the last he refused the assistance of the friars, but asked for the support of two Jesuit fathers, which request was granted. When Rizal fell pierced by four bullets, the friars so far forgot their "Holy Calling" as to shout their exultation, and joined with the people in their cries of "Viva Espana" and "Viva Justicia," The body was removed and buried by his family* INSURRECTIONS AND CAUSES. 31 "So ended a life whose history will live for centuries, not only in the Philippine Islands, but all over the wo;;ld." ^Though Dr. Rizal is revered as the foremost Filipino patriot and martyr, he was not the first of his fellow countrymen to suffer and die for the cause of freedom, which he with them espoused so bravely, for the struggle did not start with him. Never during all the centuries of Spanish oppression had their inborn love of liberty died out of the hearts of the Filipinos, though it had been fanned afresh into flames of enthusiasm as they learned of the liberty enjoyed by others. But it was the terrible oppression of the foreign Spanish friars that drove them to desperate resistance./^ CHAPTER III. INSURRECTIONS AND CAUSES. In the Manila "Freedom" of the 4th of July, 1899, we find the following account of the insurrection of 1872, which gives a good insight into the situation then: "In the evening of January 20, 1872, the native soldiers at Cavite mutinied and massacred their officers. The following day, however^ the Spaniards succeeded in queuing the rising. It had been arranged that a simul- taneous outbreak should take place at Manila, but owing to a misunderstanding it broke out prematurely in Ca- vite. Shortly after a great number of arrests were made in Manila, many were tortured, transported and some shot on the Luneta, among the latter being the well- known Padre Burgos, a native priest, whom to this day the Tagalogs venerate as a martyr. This rising was a prelude to that of the year 1896, which was really an improved edition of it. "The chief cause leading to both risings was the des^ potiQ ^nd tyr^n.tiical tr^atTOQtit Qi tbe„ aaUyQ^ by tb.Q Z2 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. monastic orders. Every protest on the part of the na tives was suppressed, whether it was addressed to the Spanish Government in Manila or to Madrid, and the complainants deported. Time and again the monks succeeded in getting the land of some native confiscated and made over to them, in such cases compelling the lawful owners to work it for them and pay them what they were pleased to call tithes. These tithes, however, were quite arbitrarily fixed by them and increased year by year. In the event of the failure of crops the natives had to contribute them all the same, and failing to do so, their buffaloes and cattle were seized. Numerous cases occurred where native families were driven from their homesteads on which their ancestors had lived for gen* erations, simply because it was impossible for them to pay the exorbitant tithes. "But not content with this, they clearly interfered also with their family relationship. One concubine, each, was not enough for the monk of certain orders; not a girl in a native house, nor even a married woman, was safe from them. Each monk, in fact, lived in his quar- ters like a despotic pasha. It is not to be supposed that the Filipino women, whose honor was thus attacked on every hand by the monks, were consenting parties, or that they did not bitterly feel the deep wrong inflicted on them. The natives are not lewd. Many instances are on record of desperate acts committed by native women when, having been seduced by the clerical traitors, they found themselves treated as outcasts by their own people. One case particularly deserves mention. It is that of a native girl of great beauty, seventeen years of age, be- longing to one of the best and most cultured native fam- ilies. She was carried off and violated by one of the friars, and was so overcome with shame and despair that she flung herself out of an upper window, and was dashed almost to pieces on the rocky street. "All complaints of the natives about misdeeds of the clergy remained without response, for monks also had their representatives in Manila and Madrid, and either took good care that the complaints were intercepted, or intimidated the high Spanish authorities, so that they TYRANNY OF THE FRIARS. 33 were left virtually as the rulers of the country, the Span- ish Government being merely a puppet in their hands." To substantiate these statements with what can not be claimed to be evidence of one unfriendly to the Roman church, we quote again from our Roman Cath- olic authority, Mr. John Foreman, from his statement to the Paris Peace Commission as found in their official report upon page 589 of Senate document No. 62, part 2: "In 1872 there was some discontent among the secular native clergy, because the monks persisted in holding the incumbencies, notwithstanding their own rules of community and the council of Trent 'decree which pro- hibited it. The friars, therefore, determined to nip this native ambition in the bud. They instigated a little re- volt of the troops at Cavite and attributed the plot to the native clergy. Four native priests fell victims to the intrigue and were publicly executed. Then, following up the scheme, native priests were declared incompetent to hold incumbencies. At the same time several of the best families of Manila were banished and despoiled of their property. I am personally acquainted with two of these victims; one resides in Hongkong and the other has for years past had his office near Leadenhall Street, London." In the oral examination of Mr. Foreman, upon this point, before the Peace Commissioners, we find the fol- lowing questions and answers on page 447 of the same document: "Q. What do you know of the moral character of these friars; how do they conduct themselves in that respect? A. A very large percentage of them lead loose lives. They encroach upon the virtue of the women. In the towns, for that purpose, they get up what they call a "Cofradia." They will call a thing a **Cofradia of St. Paul," or "St. Joseph," and they get women to join and these women really become the servants of the priests. They do not, of course, say that it is that, but that is 34 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. what it really amounts to, and they are called upon every once in a while for a "Cofradia," and I knew a place in Negros where they taught the women to consider it quite an honor to clean out the parish priest's house, and in this way they have the women at their call, and there are a great many, a very great many of the sons and daugh- ters of the priests throughout the islands. There is no secrecy about this, they do not tell it in whispers, and the natives allow their daughters to marry the sons of these priests freely. They do not seem to mind it much, I remember one notable case. I was staying with a friend of mine down in Languimance — "Q. In the island of Luzon? A. Yes, sir. My friend's name is Henry George Brown. He lives now at Safifron- Walden in Essex, England. I have known him about seventeen years, and I was staying at his place, and a letter came from the corporation, saying that Father So-and-So is going to pass through your town on his way to Tamina, due north of this place, and will you please take charge of his goods and parcels, and see that they are sent on to Tamana? I was there at the time the small steamer came in, and a drenching rain came down, and simply drenched the things, and Brown said that it would be a good act to open these things and dry them, and so we had the cases opened and the things spread out to dry, and he called to me and said: "J^st look here; is this not astonishing?" and he showed me some filthy prints, photographic slides for a sort of ka- leidoscope arrangement, slides and prints of a most filthy nature. He said: "I show you this because it does not seem possible that, coming in the package of a priest, these things could be possible." He said that it was no business of ours, but that he showed them to me for their moral effect, and I mentioned it in my book. And that is the man who was to take charge of the souls of the parish he was appointed to. That man had been turned out of the parish he had because he was so obnoxious; he was simply a human beast. "There was another case. When I first went to Manila there was quite a hubbub about a certain priest called Pierre, who held a parish in Pampanga Province, and INJUSTICE. 35 he had beaten a boy to death, so he was taken away from there and sent farther north to a town called San Miguel de Mayamo. I had occasion to go to that town and they told me about it — it was notorious. A woman came to see him, and he kicked her in the abdomen and she fell down badly hurt, and died. This became too notorious, and they removed him from there. It was talked about freely, what a scandal it was, etc. That was when I arrived, seventeen years ago, and they said: "Is it pos- sible we are going to have these priests free from justice, and they can do as they like with us?" On page 387 of Senate document Np. 62 may be found the following statement in the evidence presented to the Paris Peace Commissioners by M. Andre, Belgian Con- sul at Manila. 'The justice is Hkewise mismanaged, and when the accused does not bribe the judges they will leave them in jail for years without paying the shghtest attention to these unfortunates, and some of these prisoners have been in jail more than ten years. "The monks, more united, have always taken advan- tage of the troubled state of affairs and offered their pro- tection to those who consented in allowing the money of the government to go in their hands. They exacted all the money they could of the Indians, and the Spanish governors protected openly these extortions. Such state of things exasperated the Filipinos, and those who suf- fered the most began the rebellion with a fury that as- tonished everybody. "The rebellion broke out from the lower classes, and they still predominate in the actual rebelHon. Even the chiefs are ancient tenants of the monks." On pages 388 and 389 of this same document is the continuation of M. Andre's statement, in part, as fol- lows: "The custom all over the Philippines is to engage men and to pay for them their personal papers. This is the beginning of a debt that will make a slave of a man. 36 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. For each dollar advanced an interest of five cents is added. At the slightest fault the man is fined and his debt grows. Whenever he needs money to baptize a baby or bury a parent the planter pays the fee direct to the curate, and always adds to the small sum advanced two or three dollars and the five cents interest. This last way is the most heavy yoke. At the end of the year he owes his master $50 or $60, and as long as he does not pay his debt he is considered as a slave, and if he runs away he will be arrested and returned to his master and is awfully lashed. When an estate is sold nearly always the papers are accompanied with a list of the debtors. The buyer makes a bargain and buys the debts, and those who owe the money become his slaves. This is about the same as buying the slaves with a plantation. * * * The Spanish Government always tolerated this, and even protected those who used to treat the men as slaves, and allowed the pirates to abuse the poor Indians. * * * Of course the education given by the monks and Spaniards is the principle cause." CHAPTER IV. OPPRESSIONS BY THE FRIARS. To reinforce this evidence we refer to the statement of Gen. Charles A. Whittier again, as presented to the Paris Peace Commissioners, to be found upon pages 498 and 499 of the same document, as follows : "I went to Manila without prejudice against the Span- iards there, perhaps a little doubtful, on account of the Maine massacre, for which, up to the time of the finding of the court of inquiry, I had been unwilling to believe that Spain was responsible, but testimony from all classes of people, English merchants, the general manager of the railway, also the general manager of the cable company (both of the last married Spanish women), a Frenchman and his wife, the advertisements in the papers, their treat- ment of their dead, their actions in battle and in civil administration, all convince me that they are without OPPRESSIONS BY THE FRIARS. 37 principle or courage, and brutally, wickedly cruel, with no improvement on three hundred and twenty-five years ago in the days of Philip 11. The bones (skulls, arms, legs) of their dead lie without the honor of a covering of earth, exposed in their fashionable cemetery, ex- humed on account of a failure by their descendants to pay rent for the tomb. The shooting in the Luneta (their favorite driveway) of dozens of so-called 'rebels' and conspirators, notably Dr. Rizal, a man of literary merit, with no trial, vague charges of belonging to secret societies, with the hope of making their victims confess to what, in many cases, did not exist, was made a fete, advertised in the papers 'there will be music,' and I have been frequently told that women and children at- tended in their carriages. The tortures inflicted with the same view of eliciting confessions are too brutal to com- mit the narrative to paper. * * >!: ''The rapacity, stealing, and immoralities of the priests are beyond question, and the bitterness of the natives against them has been caused and aggravated by years of iniquity. To demand a wife or daughter from a native has been a common occurrence. Failing to obtain ac- quiescence, the husband's or father's goods have been seized, he deported or thrown into jail, under an order easily obtained from the government in Manila. The priests' influence was paramount — they are rich, and fathers (not only of the church), despised and hated by the people" To reinforce this evidence still further, we refer io a few more unimpeachable testimonies, to which the atten- tion of all is earnestly directed. On page 734 of Senate document No. 62, part 2, of the Records of the 55th Congress, is the memorandum already referred to made by General F. V. Greene, late of the U. S. Volunteers in the Philippines, which was presented to the Paris Peace Commissioners and em- bodied in their official report. It is entitled a "Memor- 38 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. andum Concerning the Philippine Islands," the second paragraph containing the following statements: 'The hatred between the Spanish and natives Is very intense, and can not be eradicated. The natives are all Roman Catholics, and devoted to the church, but have bitter hatred for monastic orders — Dominican, Francis- can and Recollets. They insist that these be sent out of the country or they will murder them. These friars own the greater part of the land and have grown rich by oppressing the native husbandmen." And now that no one may imagine for one moment that this evidence is inspired by Protestant prejudice we will turn to another Roman Catholic authority of a high order upon the Philippine question, Mr. Ramon Reyes Lala. Being a native Filipino — born and bred in Manila — he knows beyond all question whereof he writes. His early education was obtained in Manila, and his higher studies continued in England and Switzerland. As he was a friend of Governor General Moriones, he had free access to official records in the Philippines. He is now a naturalized American citizen, and has written in one of the best books yet published upon his native land as follows: 'The hierarchy of the colony consists of an archbishop resident in Manila, and four bishops. The archbishop lives in a palace, and has a salary of $12,000 a year, while the annual expense of the cathedral in Manila is not less than $60,000. The present hierarchy costs the govern- ment $800,000 a year. They (the priests) receive all, and give nothing. "The several orders have immense revenues from in- vestments in the island and in Hongkong. They possess magnificent estates ; but, notwithstanding their enormous wealth, they are hard task-masters, grinding the poor to the paying of the last penny. Their injustice and tyranny have of late aroused bitter complaint, and are a chief cause of the late insurrection. USURPATION OF POWER. 39 "The friar is usually from a lowly family, and is, there- fore, able at once to enter into sympathy with the hum- ble life of the people. He is doctor, architect, engineer, and adviser; in all things truly the father of the commu- nity, the representative of the white race and of social order. Such is the ideal village curate, and many such — good men and true — are to be found. There are, how- ever, many black sheep among them. And the gross immorality of those that should be examples in virtue has been a great impediment to the work of the church among the thinking natives. There are, also, some Chinese and native friars; but, owing to the various in- surrections, in which some of these were in evolved, they are no longer trusted; in fact, a native can no longer become a priest. "The archbishops — with an exaggerated idea of their own importance — soon became exceedingly troublesome to the civil power, by reason of their excessive claims. This was never more manifest than in their pretended immunity from all State control. Upon one occasion the governor demanded of the archbishop to produce several persons charged with capital and other crimes, who had found an asylum in a convent. The archbishop promptly refused, claiming the prerogative of sanctuary. The ac- cused not only openly defied the governor, but armed themselves, intending to resist should he endeavor to apprehend them. The governor, learning this, arrested the archbishop, and confined him and the priests who had been his abettors in prison, charging them with con- spiracy against the government. "The news spread over the province with incredible swiftness, and hundreds of priests, collecting hordes of natives on the way, marched with riotous demonstrations and violent clamor to the palace. Franciscans, Domini- cans, and Augustinians forgot their fierce rivalry, and joined in the shout: 'Long live the church! Long live King Philip V.!' "The mob burst open the doors of the palace, and, the terror-stricken guards having fled, they forced their way to the governor, who calmly awaited them, standing with loaded musket in his hand. 40 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. "He then ordered the rabble to retreat, but with wild shrieks, incited by the priests that accompanied them, they rushed on him. The governor pulled the trigger, but his flint failing to strike fire he defended himself with his bayonet. He was finally surrounded; insulted, beaten, and stabbed, he was dragged to jail. The son of the governor, running to his father's aid, was severely wounded by the rebels. Attempting, nevertheless, to cut his way through, he was killed, and his body horribly mutilated. "The mob then broke open the door of the fortress where the archbishop was confined and liberated him. This worthy was then escorted with much acclamation to the palace, and assumed charge of the government, which he held for four years. "The orders, presenting the united front of a corpor- ation, were extremely powerful, and, practically, unas- sailable. When arrayed against an individual it always resulted in his defeat — that is, his expulsion or imprison- ment. They practically had their way in all things and under all circumstances. Nothing could withstand them; for to attack one friar was to attack his whole order. Thus much injustice was occasioned. I have known a highly respectable man, possessed of great wealth, cheated out of house and home. Yes, his very liberty — through the intrigues of a friar that desired to enrich his order! Such societies are a cancer in the body politic, a constant enemy to good government, a menace to jus- tice, and a foe to liberty. "In the future history of these islands this will be one of the hardest problems to solve. The easiest and most eflfective plan, it seems to me, is to cut the gordian knot — that is, to expel the whole body of friars from the islands. By so doing, much shedding of blood will be saved. For I do not believe that these good brethren will soon cease to foment insurrection against the hated Protestant conqueror. They have ever been breeders of mischief under the congenial rule of Catholic Spain; what won't they do under the regime of enlightened America, whose first thought is the liberty that means death to extortion and oppression, the cardinal principles FRIARS HATED. 41 of their order? By this I do not mean a propaganda against the CathoHc church ; for I am a CathoHc myself, and firmly believe that this religion is far better suited to the character of our people than any form of Protest- antism." Major Frank Bourns, Chief Surgeon of U. S. Volun- teers in Manila at the time, wrote a report under date of August 29, 1898, which was presented to the Paris Peace Commission by Major-General Wesley Merritt, as testi- mony "entitled to a great deal of credit," because of his ability, also as he had formerly resided in the Philippines for several years, and had seen the situation for himself. On page 378 of Senate document No. 62, part 2, Rec- ords of 55th Congress, his statement may be found as follows : "The only point on which all the natives and half- castes I have talked with agree, is, that they will never, so long as they have arms, ammunition or men, submit again to Spanish authority. Their bitterness against the Spaniards can scarcely be exaggerated. This fact I have had abundant opportunity to know. "The feeling against the monastic orders is, as you know, not against the church itself, as they are all good Catholics and wish well toward the Catholic church. The bitterness is directed against all the members of the monastic orders." The evidence of these various witnesses as presented we trust will be sufficient to establish the point in ad- vance that no attack is intended upon the Roman Cath- olic church, as it is the earnest desire of the writer, herein, as already stated, to defend and not to defeat or infringe in the least upon civil or religious liberty. Having been born of American parentage upon an Asiatic mission field, not far from the Philippines, he feels the deepest sympathy for the native people, while being at heart a most loyal American. He hopes that the facts reviewed 42 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. herein may reach the hearts of all honest men and women. Before passing from this point he enters his most earn- est protest against any and all attempts to propagate or prohibit the Gospel of the Prince of Peace among any and all people at the point of the bayonet, according to mediaeval methods, whether it be in the interests of Protestant or Roman Catholic missions, either or both, as the case may be, which seems to be one of the prin- cipal motives for waging the present war against the native Filipino Catholic^. Realizing that this assertion will be indignantly denied by both Catholic and Protestant propagandists he rests his case with only one quotation to illustrate what should make us shudder with shame, from a leading divine of one of the great Protestant denominations in the United States, who has said: "Christ is the solution for the difficulty regarding national expansion. There never was a more manifest providence than the waving of Old Glory over the Phil- ippines. The only thing we can do is to thrash the natives until they understand who we are. I believe every bullet sent, every cannon shot, every flag waved, means righteousness. When we have conquered an- archy, then is the time to send the Christ there." — Social Forum, No. I, page 13. Not so, said the Holy Nazarene Himself ! He said: "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15), but not at the point of bloody spear or bayonet, for His was the gospel of love and peace and heaven, which the angels heralded at His birth when they sang: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men" (Luke 2:14); not the conquest of the cross by blood and flame and death. The Christ of Calvary never said. Go ye therefore and MEDIEVAL METHODS. 43 ''thrash the natives until they understand who we are," baptizing them with blood and fire and death, in the name of "humanity, civilization and progress," but, "Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them' in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." (Matthew 28:19.) "Every bullet sent, every cannon shot, every flag waved" by Protestant conquerors in the present means bitterness, hatred and abhorrence for them, as past and present conquests of cruelty have begotten the same abomination for the Catholic friars and Spanish op- pressors of the past. It is anti-Christian to say, "When we have conquered anarchy, then is the time to send them the Christ." Christ came to conquer anarchy^ and can! Strange as it seems, however, that friends of the Gospel of Peace should favor its propagation by gun- powder, bayonets, and bloodshed, it is still stranger that its professed friends, who claim to believe that the foun- dation of their faith is the Bible, should seek to suppress its truth, and substitute therefor superstition. The Rev. Father Ambrose Coleman of the Roman Catholic Church has written of the Protestants in Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippines as follows: "That these Bible scatterers can and will do harm there is no doubt. Already they have flooded Porto Rico with tracts and pamphlets, crammed with the usual vile charges against the Catholic church and her ministers. It is a shame and wonder to find professed ministers of religion joining in a cry with the professed destroyers of religion. To counteract the baleful influence of the Protestant missionary and Bible societies, it will be necessary for the Catholic church in America to be alive to the new and grave responsibilities they throw upon her by the hand of Providence, and to send our English- speaking priests at once to the Philippines, to make up 44 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. for the great dearth of priests caused by the excesses of the rebels." Since the great Roman Catholic church claims to take its teachings from the Bible, why should it fear the in- fluences of its truth? That the native Filipino Roman Catholics are revolting against the reign of ignorant superstition inaugurated by the friars, and sought to be perpetuated by their friends, is evident from the following words, by one of them, Mr. Ramon Reyes Lala, whose avowal of faith as a loyal Catholic we have already quoted: "The natives, however, are gradually breaking through the net-work of superstition that centuries of priestcraft have woven round them. That they are open to con- viction — to the light of reason and hope of truth, deeds bear witness. * * * "The enlightening and invigorating effects incidental to American occupation will immediately loose their tongues and rally recruits to their new standard of thought. Of this I hope and expect great results." CHAPTER V. CATHOLICISM IN CHINA. But such militant missionaries have other records in the Orient. In 1898 the Chinese Government, yielding very reluc- tantly under pressure from the Government of France, passed a law making all Catholic bishops politically equal to Chinese Viceroys, and conferring political powers upon all officials of the Roman Catholic church in China according with their rank in that church, down to ordin- ary priests, who were given the standing and power of Chinese magistrates or Mandarins. "The Shanghai Recorder" corresponded with every CATHOLICISM IN CHINA. 45 Protestant missionary in China who had been on the field four years or over, at that time, and collected their opin- ions concerning this law, and they unanimously refused to accept any political positions, offices or power what- ever. This law incensed the native officials and the whole Chinese population intensely against foreign interfer- ence. But the Chinese people have begun to discriminate between the Protestant and Catholic missionaries, as can be seen from the following quotation from an account of the escape of Rev. J. Goforth and party of the Canadian Mission of the Presbyterian church in the San Francisco Call of August 29th, 1900. Rev. Mr. Goforth said therein: "It was truly a stormy trip, and we had hand-to-hand fights in which we were only saved by a miracle. The Chinese seemed to have special hatred for the Catholics, and our declaration that we were Protestants was all that saved our lives on an occasion when the infuriated Chinese had their drawn swords over our heads. I fear that the Catholic mission near us was the scene of butchery. I know that the mission was looted and I believe there were no survivors of the attack." 'The San Francisco Examiner" of the same date con- tained the following from Rev. Mr. Goforth in its ac- count of this affair: "I was compelled to get out of the cart and fight hand- to-hand. There were only three pistols in our party, and these were of little service. "Just as I alighted from the cart three Chinese swords- men rushed at me. The first blow went through my pith helmet, cutting to the bone. I was rendered unconscious, but quickly revived. I was struck across the neck with a heavy, blunt instrument that gave me a sensation of 46 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. decapitation. In that one fight I was wounded nine times and Dr. Leslie fourteen times, the other members faring a little better." Referring to their retreat after this attack to a near by village he remarked: "At the village our temporary haven, a Catholic mis- sion was under siege, and that the villagers would not suffer by housing us we were ordered on. Here we learned for the first time the cause of the sudden up- rising. Couriers dressed with arrows and a burnt feather had scoured the country a few days before, proclaiming war against the world, and ordering the massacre of all foreigners." Rev. Mr. C. E. Bousfield, of the American Baptist Mission at Shaohing, who has been a missionary in China for nineteen years and who returned on the steamer China, with his wife and babe, in company with Mr. and Mrs. Goforth and their four children, in conversation with the writer hereof, fully confirmed Mr. Goforth's account. He also added, that not once only, but repeatedly the only thing that saved the Goforth party of eleven adults and four small children in their flight of over six hundred miles, taking twenty-three days for their escape, was their declaration that they were not Romanists. To show how friendly the mandarins were to them, Rev. Mr. Bousfield stated that the mandarins on the hills begged them to leave before the outbreak, when they went to their station in the city, and the magistrate of the nearest yamen took them into his own house when the mob attacked their houses, and we quote from his ac- count of this occurrence as given in the San Francisco Call of August 29th, 1900: "When the Chinese horde had succeeded in utterly demolishing the place, they advanced on the magistrate's CATHOLICISM IN CHINA. 47 house and threatened to attack it unless we were given up. Nine of the soldiers who had defended us so faith- fully were wounded, but they stood by us. We finally made up our minds that if a boat could be secured we would risk an attempt to reach the coast. .We so in- formed the mandarin, and he promised his protection. He procured for us a small boat, but it was as much as our lives were worth to attempt to reach it, as it was surrounded by fully 5,000 Chinese. We reached it, how- ever, a mile down the river, the mandarin keeping the crowd at bay with his soldiers." Mr. Bousfield told the writer personally that the kindness of the Chinese offi- cials could not have been exceeded at this time in any way. For brevity we omit his story of their flight and escape, but quote again from the San Francisco Call of August 29th, 1900, what he stated therein regarding the care and kindness of the mandarins, who not only helped them with their own hands but risked their lives for them. . "The mandarin was afraid to trust the majority of his soldiers, and sent with us as escort a squad of picked men, in command of his brother, a nephew and a cousin. At one landing place, Fuyiang, we were surrounded by a mob of 5,000 Chinamen, and barely escaped the terrible torture which capture meant. We finally reached Shang- hai, but in a most deplorable state. "After our arrival we learned that a few days after our start for the coast, nine missionaries were massacred but a two-days' journey from where we were first troubled. My wife's health was not of the best, so we came to San Francisco, and will go to New York, but both of us, with our little child, born in China, will return to the mission." The Call continues its account by quoting from the Rev. D. S. Holmes of the same party as follows: "Rev. D. S. Holmes (T. D. Holmes also of the Ameri- 48 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. can Baptist Mission), who was with Mr. Bousfield on his terrible trip, speaks in the most flattering terms of the friendship of the Chinese mandarins. * ** They did everything in their power to aid us in our escape,' he said, 'even giving us money, of which we were very much in need. Ten of their most trusted soldiers made the journey with us to Shanghai. Major Sio, one of the officials of our district, said it was not necessary for us to go to Shanghai, as he could afford us ample protection, but we chose to make the trip, as we thought the danger would increase, and that we would not again have such an opportunity of escaping. Without their assistance we would never have been able to leave the country alive. So intent was the mob on making us its victims that it even threatened the homes of the officials, and would undoubtedly have killed us all.' " According to the report of the Papal Legation at Washington in July, 1900, there were 609,360 Roman Catholics in China. To show how their work is carried on there we quote .from an Associated Press dispatch, which explains the position. We can not vouch for the facts stated therein, though : [By The Associated Press.] "New York, June 18.— The Rev. C. Frin of the Catho- lic mission at Kiang-Nan, -where there is now danger from the Boxers, has written an account of how the mem- bers of his community meet all attacks of the natives. He says: " 'But the missionaries, on their side, have devised a plan for protecting themselves and their Christians, which is not the least of their successes in China. As soon as the inhabitants of some village have been converted the fathers, while attending to the duties of their apostolic ministry, see that the men are thoroughly drilled and taught to watch the enemy and defend themselves in case of necessity. * * * * j\^^^ Jt happens that, when the marauders fall upon a Christian village, they are CATHOLICISM IN CHINA. 49 greeted by a sharp fire of guns and cannon and are gen- erally beaten back with heavy losses. '' To get a true idea of one of our mission centers in the districts which the robber bands have hitherto terror- ized at pleasure, picture to yourself every Christian vil- lage as a small stronghold, fortified at every point of vant- age. In the center of the village stands the residence of the commander, who is none other than the missionary. This residence is a regular citadel, surrounded by high walls and flanked at its corners by four towers, well forti- fied also. There are no doors. The going in and out is effected by means of ladders, which are each time drawn back within. During the day the father attends to his duties and the Chinese to their work. " 'At nightfall every one is at home again and if danger has been signaled they all retire within the fort, sentries being appointed to keep watch from the towers. At the first cry of alarm the men are up in arms and the father directs the defense. If the enemy has been reported in larger numbers than usual the missionary has taken care to ask the mandarin for additional help and is, therefore, well prepared to repulse the assailants. As a result of these measures the brigands become, little by little, dis- couraged and leave the Christian villages unmolested, while the missionaries win for themselves the love of the neophytes, the confidence of the public authorities and popularity among the peacefully incHned portion of the people.' " This is an illustration of the manner in which the priests have brought upon themselves and their converts the vengeance of the "Boxers." Rev. James Medows, the oldest of the China Inland Missionaries in the Tsih-Kiang province and in charge of the China Inland Mission at Tai-chow, informed Rev. M. Bousfield of the following facts as stated in his own words: "Rev. Mr. Medows told me of an instance in which a Chinese mandarin had given a sentence displeasing to 50 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. a Roman Catholic priest at Tai-chow. The priest col- lected his followers, seized the official and kept him a prisoner until he agreed to do as the priest dictated. "He also told me that many times the Roman Catholic chapels had been destroyed by the populace while the China Inland Mission chapels had been in no way molested. ''On one occasion the China Inland Mission chapel stood exactly opposite to the Roman Catholic chapel, which was destroyed. "He also told me of an instance wherein the Roman Catholic priests had extorted $2,000 Mexican from a mandarin who had interposed between them and a pre- tended convert of the Roman Catholic faith, who was a woman in the case." These instances show how wherever they go under the garb of religion these men plot for political power and plunder, not only disgracing the cause of Christ, but destroying the peace of the country by their inevitable rule or ruin policy. Rev. William Ashmore, D. D., a resident missionary of China from the American Baptist Missionary Union for over half a century, says in the Standard of Chicago for September i, 1900: *The Romanists claim to have 1,000,000 converts. Their communities are scattered all over China. They are both feared and hated. The mandarins are contin- ually in awe of them. They resist, and rightfully, this interference with their prerogative, and this encroach- ment on their civil administration. And so all over China under French protection Romanist priests and their con- verts and their proteges have been getting together the elements of a storm. The storm has come and has broken upon them with fury. * * * it is not the Roman- ist creed which has kindled this conflagration, but Ro- manist usurpations, Romanist secularism, and Romanist abuses of power under French patronage. The Chinese did also bitterly object to the demand for Lko Tung CATHOLICISM IN CHINA. 51 peninsula as a compensation for the lives of the priests. They said the fine was exorbitantly excessive." But this is an illustration of the effects of Rome's political, so-called, religious conquests, the world over from first to last. But, as to place all the blame upon these political religionists would be as unfair as to say they had nothing to do with these troubles, we quote the following from a returned missionary, who tells the truth of the situation clearly and concisely: "The present war in China is not anti-missionary, but anti-foreign. The Chinese do not hate the missionaries as such, but hate them as foreigners. Nor do they hate the foreigners as foreigners, but as land-grabbers. Rus- sia, Germany, France and England are responsible for the outbreak. If those nationalities, looking on the domain of the United States in the hour of our weakness should say, one after the other: "Boston is a good-looking city. I'll take Boston, if you please;" "Charleston has a fair har- bor, I'll appropriate Charleston, if you have no objec- tion;" "the Mississippi valley is quite productive, I'll accept that as my 'sphere of influence.' " If these nation- alities should thus speak it would not be long before there would be some "Boxers" in America, and the scenes of the Stamp Act and other atrocities of freedom witnessed in 1775 would be reenacted. **The United States has no land to grab, and through the "open door" will prove to be the protector of China and her best friend. History is making fast in the orient. Civilization is sweeping in. Idolatry is doomed. China in fifty years will be one of the world powers, and a large one. It has passed through scores of revolutions, through thousands of years. This uprising will prove to be local and not national, temporary and not permanent. The end will be the modernizing and strengthening of a great empire — not its disintegration. Louis A. Gould. Formerly missionary in China. Shelby ville, Ind., June 26 (1900)." We believe the foregoing to be a fair statement 0! the 52 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. facts in the case, and would close upon this point with the reminder that the present is not the first attempted extermination which the intrigues of the Roman Catholic missionaries have brought upon themselves in China and elsewhere. CHAPTER VI. FREEMASONRY AND FREEDOM. On page 588 of Senate document No. 62, part 2, of the Records of the 55th Congress, we find in the written evidence of Mr. John Foreman, as presented to the Paris Peace Commissioners, the following historical statement: "From the foundation of Manila in 1571 up to the year 1819 the colony of the Philippine Islands was a de- pendency of Mexico. During that long period there was absolutely no direct intercourse between the mother country and her far eastern colony. Everybody and everything destined for the Philippines passed through Mexico until that American colony threw off the Spanish yoke." From this fact it must be readily realized that the civili- zation of Mexico and of the Philippines must be much the same, for as the Spanish political religious system spread from Mexico throughout North and South Amer- ica, so it crossed the Pacific and took possession of the Philippines as it had crossed the Atlantic and captured Cuba and the Antilles. The self-same religious orders which had overrun and overruled all else in the Spanish- American possessions, until the Roman Catholic natives, driven to desperation by their outrageous tyranny, re- belled against their oppression, tyrannized in turn over the native Filipino Roman Catholics until they, like their Roman Catholic brethren in Mexico, that most Catholic country of all the Americas, arose in revolt against them. FREEMASONRY AND FREEDOM. 53 As the Masonic order in Mexico and the other Span- ish-American colonies or possessions formed the nucleus of the reformers seeking for freedom from monastic rob- bery and outrage, so in the Philippines the struggle for civil and religious liberty was led by representatives or members of the Masonic order there, and affiliated so- cieties. A reference to the official records of the Spanish Cortes can confirm this statement of fact as is to be seen from the following: (Copyright, 1899, ^y The Chicago Record.) "Madrid, June 9. — The Cortes has just been called upon to pass upon the question of seating Republican Deputy Moraita, accused of having fomented the insurrection of the Philippine natives against Spain. The deputy's an- swer was simply that he had founded Masonic lodges in the islands in order to combat the monks. Thereupon the clerical majority in the Cortes promptly refused to admit Moraita to the seat to which he was elected." As the President of the Republic of Mexico is the supreme head of the Masonic order in Mexico, so were the leaders of the reformers in the Philippines — Free Masons — foremost among them being the renowned Dr. Rizal, hero, patriot, and martyr, who pleaded most bravely for his people till he fell a victim to the fury and treachery of the friars. For confirmation of this statement of fact we will turn again to Roman Catholic authority, to avoid any possible suspicion of Protestant prejudice, and lest we be accused of Masonic connections, we state that the writer is not a Mason, neither is he beholden to that order in any way, nor is that order responsible for this review in the least. From an article in The CathoHc World of August, 1898, entitled, "A Sketch of Catholicity in the Philip- pines," by Charleson Shane, we quote the following: 54 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. ''Unfortunately, in the Philippines, as in Cuba, and in former Spanish colonies, the Catholic religion has suf- fered the disadvantage of being identified with a ruling dominant class, hostile to popular independence and of no startling excellence as to morality.- In natural con- sequence the propaganda of advanced ideas has experi- N enced steady and furtive growth among the more intelli- gent, active, and influential of the natives under the aegis of free thought and Masonic societies. *'In 1896 a report of the civil governor of Manila men- tions eighty-two established lodges, twenty-four of them being in the province of Manila. The membership of the secret societies ran as high in numbers as the whole standing army of the United States, and it was through their efforts that the insurrection was initiated and car- ried on." It is evident that the writer refers to Free Masons and the Katipunans in this connection, and in this statement he is sustained by the official report of the first Philippine Commission which contains the following clause: *'A powerful adjunct to the revolutionary movements was the Katipunan Society. This order was patterned on the Masonic order. It was a secret society and had about 400,000 members, who were in the main residents of the Tagalog provinces and of the valley of the Pasig River. In Manila and this valley there were 80,000 members." Senator Hoar in his speech of April 17, 1900^ before the United States Senate, said of this: 'T have heard somewhere that there was a similar pros- perous organization in the United States in the early days, and that a commander-in-chief named George Washington clothed himself with its insignia and, I believe, laid the corner stone of a capitol somewhere. (The capitol at Washington.) 'T do not profess to know very much about that mighty order of which so many of the greatest men in America and throughout the world have been members, in high PROMISES OF INDEPENDENCE. 55 authority and in fullest communion, including some Presidents of the United States, (President McKinley himself) but it strikes me that if in the city of Manila itself, in the single city, the only spot, where these hos- tilities begun, with one or two trifling exceptions, held by the power of the United States, there was an order of this character, with 80,000 members, devoted to independ- ence, it is pretty good evidence that the best citizenship, after all, is on the side of the people. Do you not think it likely that the love of liberty and the love of independ- ence burns brighter in the human soul in proportion as the man is better?" The Outlook for June 16, 1900, states that: "A petition to Congress from the Katipunan secret society has been published. It claims a membership of 4,000,000, and asserts that since 1892 national independ- ence has been its sole aim. It urges that annexation is incompatible with lasting peace, and insists upon ulti- mate independence, with an immediate American protec- torate like that of Cuba, as the only acceptable plan." That our readers may judge for themselves just what justification the Filipinos have for making these de- mands, we will quote word for word from official records what our American Admiral, Consuls, and Generals in command say, they have written and said to them upon this subject. CHAPTER VII. PROMISES OF INDEPENDENCE. Admiral Dewey wrote in his dispatch to the authorities at Washington, June 27, 1898: "Aguinaldo has gone to attend a meeting of insurgent leaders, for the purpose of forming a civil government." Then he added as his approval and endorsement, as well as sanction of Aguinaldo's effort to form "a civil government:" 56 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. "In my opinion, these people are far superior in their intelligence and more capable of self-government than the natives of Cuba." And on August 29, 1898, he wrote from Manila a let- ter intended for and presented to the Paris Peace Com- missioners as evidence, to be found upon pages 383 and 384 of Senate document 62 of the 55th Congress, reiter- ating this statement and emphasizing it in these words: "Further intercourse with them has confirmed me in this opinion." On page 357 of the same document is a letter from the Secretary of State, Mr. Day to Mr. Pratt, Consul-Gen- eral at Singapore saying: "The address presented by the 25 or 30 Filipinos who gathered about the consulate discloses an understanding on their part that the object of Admiral Dewey was to support the cause of General Aguinaldo, and that the ultimate object of our action is to secure the independ- ence of the Philippines under the protection of the United States; your address does not repel this implica- tion." Upon page 353 of this same document is the address of which Mr. Day complains as a commitment of our coun- try by our Consul-General. The exact words of the Filipinos' address to which he replied were these, to be seen upon pages 352 and 353 of this same document: "Our countrymen at home, and those of us residing here, * * * hope that the United States, your na- tion, persevering in its humane policy, will efficaciously second the programme arranged between you, Sir, and General Aguinaldo in this port of Singapore and secure to us our independence under the protection of the United States." Consul-General Pratt replied in part thus : "Rest assured * * * that your words, which have PROMISES OF INDEPENDENCE. 57 sunk deep in my heart, shall be faithfully repeated to the President, to Admiral Dewey, and to the American peo- ple, from whom, I am sure, they will meet with full and gen-erous response. * >h * J ^an only hope that the eventual outcome will be all that can be desired for the happiness and well-fare of the Filipinos." Upon pages 338, 339 and 340 of this same document is a letter from Consul-General Wildman of Hongkong to Mr. Moore of the State Department in which he refers to a letter that he wrote to Aguinaldo on July 25, 1898, in part as follows: "Do not forget that the United States undertook this war for the sole purpose of relieving the Cubans from the cruelties under which they were suffering, and not for the love of conquest or the hope of gain. They are actuated by precisely the same feelings toward the Filipinos. Whatever the final disposition of the conquered territory may be you can trust to the United States that justice and honor will control all their dealings with you." All of the foregoing letters were presented in the evi- dence produced before the Paris Peace Commissioners in Paris. Gen. Thomas M. Anderson, the commander of the first American army in the Philippines, said in his article in the North American Review for February, 1900: "Whether Admiral Dewey, Consuls Pratt, Wildman, and Williams did or did not give Aguinaldo assurances that the Philippine government would be recognized, the Filipinos certainly thought so, probably inferring this from their acts, rather than their statements." In the Chicago Record of February 24, 1900, General Anderson said: "Every American citizen who came in contact with Filipinos at the inception of the Spanish war, or at any time within a few months after hostilities began, pro- bably told those he may have talked with on the subject 58 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. that we intended to free them from Spanish oppression. The general expression was: 'We intend to whip the Spaniards and set you free.' It must be remembered that, two years before, Aguinaldo had been the leader in a rebellion, the object of which was to set up an independ- ent Fihpino government." In regard to Aguinaldo's declaration that Admiral Dewey told him that "We were honorable, and having plenty of land, desired no colonies," the General adds: "1 must plead guilty to this Delphic utterance at a subse- quent period/' He says also: "Even if Dewey and the consuls had no right to pledge the government, if they did so even with- out authority, it gives the insurgent leaders a certain equitable claim to consideration." General Anderson states in the North American Re- view of February, 1900, page 277: "A few days thereafter he made an official call on me and * * * asked if we, the North Americans, as he called us, intended to hold the Philippines as dependen- cies. I said I could not answer that, but that in one hun- dred years we had established no colonies. He then made this remarkable statement: *I have studied atten- tively the Constitution of the United States and I find in it no authority for colonies, and I have no fear.' " As our Declaration of Independence is a declaration of principles, declaring that: "Governments are insti- tuted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed," as our declaration to the world when we went to war with Spain disclaimed any and all intent of any territorial conquest, and as "actions speak louder than words," and during all our history we had stood as the avowed champions of human liberty, did not our constitution, our declaration, and our deeds, justify the Filipinos in expecting just what we had promised Cuba? PROMISES OF INDEPENDENCE. 59 If it was just for us to promise it to Cuba, was it not unjust for us not to promise it to the Philippines, under precisely the same cicumstances? Consul Williams wrote from Manila February 22, 1898: ''Conditions here and in Cuba are practically alike;" and again he wrote from Manila on March 27, 1898, "Cuban conditions exist here possibly in aggra- vated form." Pages 319 and 321, Senate document number 62 part 2. On pages 6, 7, 8 and 9 of Gen. E. S. Otis' official report of August 31, 1899, in a letter to Aguinaldo^ dated Man- ila, P. L, September 8, 1899, he wrote regarding the war with Spain: 'It was undertaken by the United States for humanity's sake, and not for its aggrandizement or for any national profit it expected to receive, and it has expended millions of treasure and hundreds of the lives of its citizens in the interests of the Spanish suffering colonists." Upon pages 83 and 84 of Gen. E. S. Otis' official re- port of August 31, 1899, he gives his proclamation of January 4, 1899, i^ which he says: "The President concludes his instructions in the fol- lowing language: 'Finally, it should be the earnest and paramount aim of the administration to win the confi- dence, respect, and affection of the inhabitants of the Philippines, by insuring to them in every possible way the full measure of individual rights and liberty which is the heritage of a free people." General Otis continued on his own account: "I am also convinced that it is the intention of the United States government to seek the establishment of a most liberal government for the islands * * * which shall be susceptible of development * * * into a govern- ment as free and independent as is enjoyed by the most favored provinces of the world." 6o THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. These words positively imply, if they do not explicitly promise exactly what the, Katipunans petition for — ■ ''Ultimate independence, with an immediate American protectorate like that of Cuba." If the men who wrote or spoke them meant anything else, then they certainly would seem to have been trying to deceive the Filipino leaders and people for purposes of their own, and the American people should repudiate their perfidy, in the only way possible, by fulfilling these pledges given in their name by the government, as promptly and faith- fully as possible. CHAPTER VIII. FITNESS FOR SELF-GOVERNMENT. For the benefit of those who may imagine, as doubt- less many do, from the innumerable falsehoods published broadcast to deceive and mislead people, that the Fili- pinos are not fit for the self-government they have sought for and fought for so valiantly, we quote the sayings and writings of men who knew of what they were saying and writing about by actual acquaintance, intercourse and experience with them. U. S. Consul-General Wildman, who was one of our first officials to meet the Filipino leaders, wrote Secretary of State Day as follows: (See Senate Doc. No. 62, part 2, page 336.) "I consider the forty or fifty leaders, with whose for- tunes I have been very closely connected, both the super- iors of the Malays and the Cubans. Aguinaldo, Agon- cillo, and Sandico are all men who would be leaders in any country." Gen. T. M. Anderson, the first commander of Amer- ican troops in the Philippines, wrote thus: "As to the Filipinos themselves, I understand many GENERAL KING'S TESTIMONY. 6i erroneous impressions are current. I was in the Philip- pines until the latter part of March, having been sent there in June, 1898, in command of the first military ex- pedition, and during that time I had some chance for studying the Filipino character and mind. I regard the Filipinos, such as have been carrying on operations against our forces in the island of Luzon, as being not far below the Japanese in intelligence and capability of culture. Nearly all can read and write; they have many schools, and there are a number of newspapers. Their cities are populous and well laid out and kept. There are many engineers and artists among the Filipinos." Our grand army of American mercenaries, office- holders and office seekers, were annoyed beyond belief at the following information. They were deeply pained by it, and their profanity was profuse when it appeared in the papers : (By The Associated Press.) ''Milwaukee, Wis., June 26, 1899. — Brig.-Gen. Charles King, who returned from the Philippines a short time ago, was asked by the Milwaukee Journal for his views of the situation in the Philippines. General King's reply was received in a letter today in which he states that the capability of the Filipinos for self-government cannot be doubted and if given a fair start they could look out for themselves infinitely better than our people imagine. General King's letter reads as follows : 'San Francisco, Gal., June 22, 1899. — To the editor of the Journal, Milwaukee, Wis. — Dear Sir: Thinking over your telegram and request of June 7, I find my- self seriously embarrassed. As an officer of the army there are many reasons why I could not give my 'views of the situation in the PhiHppines, how long fighting is likely to continue and thoughts as to America's part in future of islands.' 'The capability of the Filipinos for self-government cannot be doubted; such men as Arrellano, Aguinaldo and many others whom I might name are highly edu- 62 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. cated; nine-tenths of the people read and write; all are skilled artisans in one way or another; they are indus- trious, frugal, temperate and, if given a fair start, could look out for themselves infinitely better than our people imagine. In my opinion they rank far higher than the Cubans or the uneducated negroes to whom we have given the right of suffrage. Very truly yours, 'Charles King.' " Afterward in an interview in the Catholic Citizen of Milwaukee, General King reiterated in the following words what he had already declared : "The Americans here do not realize the truth that nine-tenths of the people read and write. Men have told me again and again that they cannot credit it. I told those whom I met it certainly was so, and I have as au- thority the Jesuits — who assured me that this is so. * * * There is fair education everywhere, and many people have ability. The men in power whom I met are gentlemen, many of whom are scholars, edu- cated abroad, polished in manners, perfect in courtesy, broad-minded and ripe in judgment. "There is no reason in the world, why the people should not have the self-government which they so passion- ately desire, so far as their individual ability to carry it on goes." Lieutenant John D. Ford, U. S. N., of the Olympia said in Baltimore in 1899: "The Filipinos are of an intelligent industrious char- acter. The women are virtuous, more so, perhaps, than those of almost any other nation. It is believed by many that they are a very ignorant race, but such is not the case. There is hardly a man or woman, even in the mid- dle class^ who can not read and write. The children are given early education, and are quick to learn. "The half savage Negritos are no more representatives of the Filipino race than our Indians are representatives of this great country. There are only about 100,000 Negritos. * * * There is in my mind but one way to settle the difficulty, and that is by diplomacy. The ia- FITNESS FOR SELF-GOVERNMENT. 63 surgents, or rebels, or whatever you choose to call them, do not know what the United States wishes to do with them. Aguinaldo, is in every sense, a patriot, and I be- lieve he is sincere in his efforts for his people, and means well. He is also a fighter, and says he means to keep on warring until the natives get a government of their own." Before Admiral Dewey returned to America, he de- clared boldly, both by word and deed, that he believed in Filipino fitness for self-government. General Otis seems to be simply a soldier, obeying or- ders contrary to his judgment, if not conscience, if cer- tain information is true, as it seems to be. We quote the following: (By the Associated Press.) ''Boston, Mass., July 7, 1899. — The Rev. Clay Macauley has written a letter to the Transcript, dated at Tokyo, Japan. Mr. Macauley declares that Admiral Dewey said to him: 'Rather than make a war of conquest upon the Fili- pino people I would up anchor and sail out of the harbor.* "Mr. Macauley visited Manila in January in search of health. Of his views then he writes: Tor a long time I could not believe that the disastrous drift of events was known to the Washington authorities. I was inclined to lay the responsibility for the increasing perils upon the military commander directly in charge. 'Yet now it seems clear to me that General Otis did this work in the main in literal obedience to his superiors in America; that there it was assumed that the whole right and duty concerning the future disposition and control of the Philippine islands lay in the wishes and will of the United States; that what the FiHpinos themselves might wish need not be taken into the account in formulating plans for their government.' "The writer had a talk with General Otis." 'Among other things,* said Mr. Macauley, 'General Otis expressed regret that there was not a better knowl- edge of the situatioa among the Washington legisktora 64 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. than there seemed to be. And he impressed me deeply by his declaration: "I was ordered to this post from San Francisco. I did not believe in the annexation of these islands when I came here, nor do I believe in their an- nexation now." 'I also had the privilege of a conversation with Ad- miral Dewey/ the writer says, and gives this version of it: 'Dewey spoke much of his concern over the turn affairs had taken and added that he was ''powerless to act." ' "Mr. Macauley says he wrote President McKinley, whom he met in Washington, regarding the situation and predicting the outbreak which has since occurred." Admiral Dewey had not returned to America at the following date: (By The Associated Press.) "London, Aug. 21, 1899. — The Naples correspondent of the Daily News, telegraphs the substance of an inter- view he had with Admiral Dewey there during the ad- miral's recent visit. "Admiral Dewey said he believed the Philippine ques- tion would shortly be solved. In his judgment the in- habitants were capable of self-government, and the only way to settle the insurrection and to insure prosperity, was to concede it to them. He declared that he was never in favor of violence toward the Filipinos, and re- marked that after autonomy had been conceded, annexa- tion might be talked of." But we prefer to quote the following clause directly (rom The London Daily News, being portions of this interview which bear upon questions under considera- tion: "Conversation then, after some remarks from Admiral Dewey on the United States navy, and to the various episodes of the battle of Cavite, turned to the question of the Philippines. 'Do you think, Admiral, that the islands are Hkely to be pacified soon?' The Admiral re- plied as follows : "I have the question of the Philippines more at heart GENERAL WHITTIER'S EVIDENCE. 65 than any other American, because I know the Filipinos intimately, and they know that I am their friend. The recent insurrection is the fruit of the anarchy which has so long reigned in the island. The insurgents will have to submit themselves to law after being accustomed to no law at all. I beheve and affirm, nevertheless, that the Philippine question will be very shortly solved. The Filipinos are capable of governing themselves. They have all the qualifications for it. It is a question of time; but the only way to settle the insurrection and to assure prosperity to the archipelago is to concede self-govern- ment to the inhabitants. That would be the solution of many questions, and would satisfy all, especially the Filipinos, who believe themselves worthy of it, and are so.' " 'Self-government for the Philippines has, however, not many partisans in America,' I remarked. " T have never been in favor of violence toward the Filipinos,' replied, or rather continued, the Admiral. 'The islands are at this moment blockaded by a fleet, and war reigns in the interior. This abnormal state of things should cease. I should like to see autonomy first con- ceded, and then annexation might be talked about. This is my opinion, and I should like to see violence at once put a stop to. According to me, the concession of self- government ought to be the most just and the most logical solution.' "The Admiral spoke with an air of frank conviction." General Charles A. Whittier, who received the surren- der of the Spaniards at Manila^ and afterward acted as collector of that port, was probably as well able to judge of the situation there as any one, and in a letter to the great American "traitor," Mr. Atkinson, he wrote as an avowed expansionist: "When we were first in the bay — and for some little while after the surrender — I was greatly opposed to our country taking the islands, doubting if it was right, be- lieving that we had quite enough country of our own to develop, and that it was absolutely against all our tradi- 66 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. tional and accepted policy. The British merchants — a respectable lot — were most insistent that we should not leave, and talked so much on this subject that at last the moment one of them began a sentence I would stop him and say : 'I know what you are going to declare — that we must hold the country. Personally, I should much prefer that England should have it, but it doesn't rest at all with any one here. The whole matter will be settled at Paris and Washington.' "But after a little while, with my changed estimate of the Filipino character, seeing their order, industry, fru- gality^ temperance, tolerance of danger and fatigue, and when I reviewed their struggle for independence, the brutalities inflicted upon them for years by the Spaniards, and their dignity still, it seemed to me our duty to use them and our own credit and resources in making a great country, as I believe it could have been made. "I felt, and still feel sure, that with a little tact and diplomacy, the people would have accepted our protec- torate — my idea being to intrust them with the adminis- tration of all the local offices, to admit them to subor- dinate places in our army, by which in a short time a force of 5,000 men would have been adequate, an ', after a fair trial, in case they developed a capacity for govern- ment and the devotion to the best interests of their country (of which I have not the slightest doubt), to ex- tend their functions, and should have been glad, in proper time, to have turned over the whole country to them. Such a course would have involved no loss of life or of money. "I cannot tell you, Mr. Atkinson, what a deep and se- rious feeling I have about all this matter. I don't think there was a necessity for the loss of a single life in battle at Manila since the first day of May, 1898 — the day of Dewey's naval battle — and I grieve every day over the new recitals of this wicked fighting and its attendant re- sults. "I may say, I think, without vanity, that the qualities shown by Aguinaldo and his people fully justify all that I said before the peace commission, and the newspapers — notably the Sun — though they give him no credit for GENERAL LAWTON'S TESTIMONY. 67 his wonderful defense, have for the last few weeks ceased their potent argument of calling him a 'nigger,' 'savage,' 'an impudent pretender,' 'the kniglit of the golden whistle,' etc." That gallant soldier, our dead hero, who lost his noble life in "this accursed war" (using his own words for it) like many another brave "Regular" our "Only a Regu- lar" — Lawton, whose very name stirs an American's heart, if it does not dim the eye, said of these Filipinos — "They are the bravest men I ever saw!" "Such men de- serve to be heard!" To show that if such men as Lawton had been listened to, they would have been heard, we quote the following from The Chicago Tribune of Sep- tember 9, 1899: "New York, Sept. 8, 1899. — (Special.) — In the current number of the Congregationalist, Boston, the Rev. Peter MacQueen (the chaplain of the first California Volun- teers), who has been in the Philippines, for the last year in service with the army, quotes General Lawton as saying: 'The Filipinos are a fine set of soldiers. They are far better than the Indians. The latter never fight unless they have the absolute advantage. The Tagals are what I would call a civilized race. They are good mechanics, imitative — they manufacture everything. They have ar- senals and cartridge factories and powder mills. They can manufacture everything they need. There is a rude arm they are getting the knack of making. 'Taking everything into consideration, the few facili- ties they have, the many drawbacks, they are an ingenious and artistic race. And taking into account the disadvan- tages they have to fight against in arms, equipment, and military discipline, without artillery, short of ammuni- tion, powder inferior, shells reloaded until they are de- fective, inferior in every particular of equipment and sup- plies, they are the bravest men I have ever seen. 'Among the Filipinos there are many cultured people, who would ornament society anywhere in the world — 68 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. women who have studied and traveled, men who have a good education and a fine brain. Take them as a class, there can as many of them read and write as the inhabit- ants in many places in America. As for their treachery, you would not have to come so far as this to find that. There is plenty of it in North America. All nations are treacherous, more or less. Some men and nations have treachery trained out of them more than others. 'What we want is to stop this accursed war. It is time for diplomacy; time for mutual understandings. These men are indomitable. At Bacoor bridge they waited till the Americans brought their cannon to within thirty-five yards of their trenches. Such men have the right to be heard. All they want is a little justice. I established a civil government at BeHnag, with the gov- ernment entirely in the hands of the natives. It worked to perfection. All these people need for self-government is the protection of our troops till afifairs have quieted, and then they will, I have no doubt, advance as rapidly as the Japanese, perhaps more rapidly.' " President Schurman, the chairman of the first Philip- pine Peace Commission, was quoted in an Associated Press dispatch of September 13th, 1899, as saying: *T have great confidence in the people of the Philip- pine islands, and much sympathy for their aspirations. A race should be judged by its best products, and an educated Filipino of whatever tribe, and each city has its educated men, will bear comparison with an educated man of any other race." Prof. Dean C. Worcester of both the first and second Philippine Commissions wrote: "If I have anywhere stated that the natives are In- capable of self-government, I have said what I did not mean to say. * * * The Filipino has developed many admirable traits. He is peaceable and cheerful; his self-restraint is remarkable; his family is well or- dered; in some instances, at any rate, he shows executive ability of no mean order when called upon to attend to FITNESS FOR SELF-GOVERNMENT. 69 the administration of local affairs in the more important towns." General Joseph Wheeler, in an interview in San Fran- cisco March 7, 1900, upon his return from the Philip- pines, said: "So far as their capacity for self-government is con- cerned, I think that the Filipinos are capable of it under certain restrictions. "The few experiments already made in civic govern- ments throughout the provinces have been very success- ful, and I think they ought to have authority to make their own laws and govern themselves under a system similar to that known as our territorial system. "This they practically had under the Spanish regime, and they did very well. There are a great many more intelligent and educated men among them than is gen- erally supposed." With such evidence, from such witnesses, as to the fitness of the Filipinos for self-government, no honest argument can be found against it. Of coiirse there will be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth among the vampire politicians, who hope for positions and plunder among American colo- nies, but, thank God, they are not the true American People. In this connection it is interesting to note that the Constitution of the Philippine Republic was modeled after that of the United States of America, as were its forms of government and official procedure. Their Congress included quite as large a proportion of cultured men as any American or European legislature can boast, among them being seventeen graduates of European universities. They were men of ability who would be recognized as such among any people. 70 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. To show something of their line of thought and actual legislation we quote from the beginning of their Consti- tution a few clauses only: "We, the representatives of the Philippine people, law- fully invoked, in order to establish justice, provide for common defense, promote general welfare, and insure the benefits of freedom, imploring the aid of the Sover- eign Legislator of the Universe in order to attain these purposes, have voted, decreed, and sanctioned the fol- lowing — POLITICAL CONSTITUTION OF THE PHILIP- PINE REPUBLIC. "Article i. The political association of all the Filipinos constitutes a nation, the estate of which is denominated Philippine Republic. "Art. 2. The Philippine Republic is free and inde- pendent. "Art. 3. Sovereignty resides exclusively in the people. "Art. 4. The government of the republic is popular, representative, alternative, and responsible, and is exer- cised by three distinct powers, which are denominated legislative, executive, and judicial. Two or more of these powers shall never be vested in one person or corpora- tion; neither shall the legislature be vested in one indi- vidual alone. "Art. 5. The state recognizes the equality of all re- ligious worships and the separation of the church and the state." See pages 107-109 of Senate Document No. 208 of the 56th Congress. Their constitution contains the same safeguards for freedom as are to be found in the constitutions of our American States. It was promulgated on January 23, 1899, at Malolos, Island of Luzon, and can compare favorably with our own. WILCOX AND SARGENT'S REPORTS. ^l CHAPTER IX. FILIPINO CIVILIZATION IN LUZON. Naval Cadet Leonard R. Sargent and Paymaster W. B. Wilcox^ U. S. N., who traveled through the Island of Luzon by Admiral Dewey's permission during the months of October and November, 1898, wrote a report which received Admiral Dewey's official endorsement, as follows: "Approved and respectfully forwarded for the informa- tion of the Navy Department. Especial attention is in- vited to this interesting and carefully prepared report, which, in my opinion, contains the most complete and reliable information obtainable in regard to the present state of the northern part of Luzon Island. "Gecfrge Dewey, "Rear- Admiral, LT. S. Navy, Commanding Asiatic Squad- ron." Mr. Sargent also wrote two articles for the Outlook of September 2 and 23, 1899, *^^^ we quote a few sentences from them as follows: "At that time the military forces of the United States held control only in Manila, with its environs, and in Cavite, and had no authority to proceed farther. In the meantime the native population, taking matters into their own hands, had declared their independence from all foreign jurisdiction and had set up a provisional govern- ment with Aguinaldo at its head. Although this govern- ment has never been recognized, * * * it can not be denied that, in a region occupied by many millions of inhabitants, for nearly six months it stood alone between anarchy and order. It was the opinion at Mc^nila during this period, and possibly in the United States, that their condition was something akin to anarchy. VI can state unreservedly, however, that Mr. Wilcox and I found the conditions to be much at variance with this opinion. "We visited seven provinces, of which some were un- 72 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. der the immediate control of the central government at Malolos, while others were remotely situated and ac- cessible only by lengthy and arduous travel. *'As a tribute to the efficiency of Aguinaldo's govern- ment and to the law-abiding character of his subjects, I offer the fact that Mr. Wilcox and I pursued our journey throughout in perfect security and returned to Manila with only the most pleasing recollections of the quiet and orderly life which we found the natives to be leading under their new regime. * * * We traveled first across the province of Nueva Icija, by far the poorest and least interesting of all the provinces we visited. And yet even here we were greatly surprised by the intelli- gence and refinement of the inhabitants. * 'H * \Ye were particularly struck by the dignified demeanor of our hosts and by the graceful manner in which they extended to us their welcome. We had unlimited opportunities for conversation with the citizens of the towns, and we found everywhere a class that gave evidence of considerable culture and a certain amount of education. * * * The Spanish language, Spanish history, church history, and the dead languages evidently formed its leading features. The natives of this class seemed to have made use of the opportunities offered them, and they had the subjects above mentioned completely at command. "Our route carried us through the valley of the Rio Grande Cagayan — probably the largest area of level country in Luzon Island. Its towns throughout give evi- dence of the labor that has been expended on them. Each town has an elaborate church and convent, usually built of brick. Our entertainment in the different towns varied according to the facilities at hand, but in all cases music was the leading feature. The towns of Ilagan and Aparri, with their wealthy and pleasure-loving popu- lation, provided a most elaborate entertainment. These towns are laid out in regular streets, and have many squares of substantial frame buildings. They have each a population of between ten and fifteen thousand. We spent three days at Ilagan^ and I think it was here that we were brought into closest touch with the Filipino character. The cultured class which I have spoken of CADET SARGENT'S REPORT. ^z before was strongly in evidence, and I think before leav- ing we had discussed views with nearly every member of it. They all realized that they were passing through a crucial period in the history of their people, and were eager to acquire all possible knowledge that might assist them to think clearly in this crisis. On the evening fol- lowing our arrival a ball was given in our honor, which was attended by all the elite of the town. There were present about fifty young women and twice that number of men. All were dressed in European fashion. The girls were pleasant, and the men comported themselves in all respects like gentlemen. It was hard to realize that we were in the very heart of a country generally supposed to be given up to semi-savages. "During our stay at Ilagan we lived at the house of the mayor. This building was of great size, and was built of magnificent hard wood from the neighboring forest. The reception room was very large, with a finely polished floor. It contained a piano and set of excellent bamboo furniture, including the most comfortable chairs and divans imaginable. The Filipinos pride themselves on their cookery, and it is indeed excellent. There is no suspicion of the greasy and garlicky flavor that char- acterizes a Spanish meal. The shortest of three dinners given in our honor numbered fifteen courses, and seemed interminable. In addition to fish, rice, chickens, and other domestic products of the country, there was served game of many sorts, including doves, snipes, deer, moun- tain buffalo, and boar. It was astonishing how many of the dishes were "comida del pais," and must be sampled by the visitor to secure a just conception of the Filipino talent in matters of the palate. The Filipino's table is always set, at least when guests are present, with a table- cloth and napkins and the customary supply of knives and forks. He is very temperate in his use of Hquor. I have never seen an intoxicated Filipino." From such law-abiding, liberty-loving, reliable citizens of the Philippines were recruited the Masons and Kati- punans who started the insurrection, and the men who formed the Filipino army in their fight against the friars. 74 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. CHAPTER X. AMERICAN CIVILIZATION IN LUZON. Before passing from this testimony as to the temper- ate habits of the Filipinos we wish to call especial atten- tion to this point, and to emphasize it by the following evidence presented by General Whittier to the Paris Peace Commissioners, to be found upon page 501 of Senate Document No. 62 of the 55th Congress: "I talked with Spanish prisoners at Tarlac, an import-- ant military station on the line of the railroad, and they said they had had good treatment only. The wives of two officers had lately visited their husbands in jail (one at Dagupan, 123 miles north), and gave same testimony. Aguinaldo, in a letter of August i to our late Consul at Manila, Mr. Williams, said, 'Say to the Government at Washington that the Filipino people abominate sav- agery; that in the midst of their past misfortunes they have learned to love liberty, order, justice, and civil life.' I believe the natives to be brave (under good leadership), most tolerant of fatigue and hunger, and amenable to command and discipline, if justice and fair dealing rule. They are very temperate, as most natives of the East are. I have never seen a drunken one, and this with the ex- ample of our soldiers, whom they imitate in everything else; very quiet, no loud quarrels, very good house ser- vants and cooks." Before Messrs. Sargent & Wilcox took this tour of investigation. General Wesley Merritt, the American Commander then, made the following memorandum, to be seen upon page 23 of Senate document No. 208 of the 56th Congress, which is as official as any endorsement could be: "For myself and the officers and men under my com- mand I can say that we have conceived a high respect for the ability and qualities of the Filipinos, and if called AMERICAN CIVILIZATION IN LUZON. 75 upon by the government to express an opinion it will be to that effect. Wesley Merritt, "Major-General." But upon page 25 of this same document is the fol- lowing account of the first violence and bloodshed between the Americans and Filipinos which must have lowered the Americans immensely in the eyes of all in- telligent Filipinos, being only the intimation of the trouble brewing: ''(Telegram received from Aguinaldo, 5:13 a. m., August 25, 1898.) ''General Merritt: "Concerning trouble between PhiHppine and American forces at Cavite, I have received notice of the death of one American soldier and three wounded. It is said that this happened by their being drunk. They fired in the air at the beginning, but afterwards fought among them- selves. "General Anderson says death has been occasioned by my people, on account of which I have ordered investi- gations to ascertain the truth and demonstrate that the Filipinos try to be in harmony with the Americans. If I shall find any one of my people guilty, I shall order severe punishment. Yours respectfully, "Aguinaldo." The reply follows: "Malacanan, August 25, 1898, 8:05 a. m. "General Aguinaldo, Commanding Philippine Forces, Bakoor: "Thanks for your telegram. I am glad to learn of your intention to investigate- fully. I am desirous with you that harmony should prevail, and request you always, in event of trouble, to communicate directly with me, as you have so wisely done this time. Merritt." An Associated Press dispatch of August 25, 1898, from Manila, said: "The friction between Americans and natives requires exceptional ability to avoid total alienation. I find several ^6 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. high officials of mediocre education who are utterly un- acquainted with oriental ideas, and unable to understand the primitive races. 'The American censor absolutely prohibits sending a single word about the Cavite incident of yesterday. A deputation from the press is going to Merritt to protest against the action. The affair began in a drunken Amer- ican shooting the native sentries who attempted to arrest him. Four natives and one American were killed. Mer- ritt returned their arms to the company which fired upon the Americans presumably inadvertently. The Ameri- cans condemn Merritt's course." From this dispatch it can be seen that two of the vital evils of our Filipino conquest had begun and were fla- grant at this date: The Censorship which deceived Americans at home, and debauchery which disgusted and alienated our Fili- pino allies and friends through the Philippines. We wish to place the blame for both exactly where they belong by presenting the facts in the case as they were and are. As General Otis had not taken the command of the Philippine forces then, he could not be blamed for the origin of the Censorship there. As it was continued after General Merritt had gone, only the administration or "government" at Washington was, and is, responsible for it. As to the liquor traffic in the Philippines which sprang from very moderate proportions to a tremendous trade almost immediately upon the arrival of the American army at Manila, the responsibility for that iniquity in the Philippines rests wholly at Washington with the Admin- istration also. From a few insignificant shacks where vino and native wines were sold, with only three more pretentious resorts for foreigners, it swelled to fabulous size, till liquors AMERICAN CIVILIZATION IN LUZON. 77 of all kinds came in car load lots to San Francisco to be reshipped in cargoes that filled ocean vessels which fol- lowed our fleet in quick succession. We quote only one of many dispatches on this subject: "[By The Associated Press.] ''San Francisco, Cal, Oct. 11. — A new trade with the Philippines has sprung up. During the last six or seven weeks no less than fifty carloads of beer and six carloads of cigarettes have been sent there. Milwaukee and St. Louis firms are shipping the beer, and Richmond, New York and several other eastern cities are forwarding the cigarettes. The articles are for the use of the American soldiers, though it is expected that the shipments may be welcomed by the natives." To show that the Commanding General of the Army felt keenly and acted upon this subject as he did regard- ing canned beef and other iniquities, we quote again : "[By The Associated Press.] "Washington, D. C, July 7. — Major-General Miles has issued the following general order to the army : "The army is engaged in active service under climatic conditions which it has not before experienced. In order that it may perform its most difficult and laborious duties with the least practical loss from sickness, the utmost care consistent with prompt and efficient service must be exercised by all, especially by officers. "The history of other armies has demonstrated that in a hot climate abstinence from the use of intoxicating drinks is essential to continued health and efficiency. "Commanding officers of all grades and officers of the medical stafif will carefully note the effect of the use of such light beverages — wines and beer — as are permitted to be sold at the post and camp exchanges, and the com- manders of all independent commands are enjoined to restrict or to entirely prohibit the sale of such beverages if the welfare of the troops or the interests of the service require such action. "In this most important hour of the nation's history it is due the government from all those in its service that 78 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. they should not only render the most earnest efforts for its honor and welfare, but their full physical and intel- lectual force should be given to their public duties, un- contaminated by any indulgences that shall dim, stultify, weaken or impair their faculties and strength in any particular. ''Officers of every grade, by example as well as by authority, will contribute to the enforcement of the order. "With a view to avoid extreme suffering among wounded horses or mules on the field of battle it is here- by ordered, that a veterinary surgeon or some other person detailed by the commanding officer shall accom- pany troops in an engagement, whose duty it will be to put an end to the agonies of all horses or mules that in his judgment are suffering to a degree requiring such action on his part." But General Miles, being backed by the "government" at Washington in battling intemperance just about as enthusiastically as he was in the Eagan scandal, the evil was allowed fullest license, as can be seen by the follow- ing from the editor of the Wine and Spirit News, who wrote of the "enterprising proportions" which the "liquor business" had reached in Manila a little later, as follows : "There are 300 licensed places in the city where liquors may be obtained, licenses costing $3 per year. The in- come of the largest, the Alhambra, is stated on good authority to be $700 per night. Already the street-cars are topped with large signs detailing the exquisite qual- ities of certain whiskies. One quarter of the daily issue of the principal English newspaper published is devoted to extolling the perfection of a brand of beer, while the largest drug store in town devotes a whole column to advertising its fine line of liquors, with no mention of its medicines." Since that time it has been sweeping on with our great American schemes of civilization, dealing out death and destruction in its diabolical business. AMERICAN CIVILIZATION IN LUZON. 79 The following, from the New York Evening Post, explains the situation: ''Clearly the power that can tax or regulate the liquor traffic by military order could suppress it. Having abso- lute authority it might be supposed that our Methodist President would at least go as far as Colonial-Secretary Chamberlain in trying to stamp out the rum trade in ^* otant dependencies. But the good Mr. McKinley will explain to the anxious temperance workers that he is not a free agent in this matter. In the first place, he needs the license money. The Philippine venture is cost- ing a pretty penny, and there must be something to show- on the right of the ledger. Then the dear ladies must not forget that the brewers are our most ardent expan- sionists. Beer is now our leading export to Manila. To do anything to cut off that trade would enrage the brew- ers and seriously injure the RepubHcan party in the presi- dential campaign. Would not the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and the churches rather have beer and whisky flowing like water in Manila than do any- thing to imperil President McKinley's reelection?" The New York Herald explains still further: "At a conference of the Woman's Christian Temper- ance Union, called yesterday in the Broadway Taber- nacle, Thirty-fourth street and Broadway, Mrs. Lillian M. N. Stevens, national president, reported on the re- sult of her conference with President McKinley the day before on the anti-canteen law. Mrs. Stevens said she had spoken on this law from Maine to California, and had found the sentiment of the country for it. This she told the President when she protested against its nulli- fication by the decision of the attorney-general. T told the President,' she said, 'that as commander-in-chief of the army, the people looked to him to aid them in mak- ing this righteous law of force, but he said he must abide by the decision of the attorney-general. We asked if that decision was final, and he said yes. We told the President that public sentiment,had never been so roused for anything except in the Roberts case, and he said if 8o THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. Congress enacted a plain anti-canteen law his branch of the government would do its best to carry it out." The following from the National Advocate brings out a most pitiful part of the programme : "A brief item appeared ifi the daily papers recently stating that the war department had received an order from General Otis at Manila for i,ooo pairs of handcuflfs and 200 pairs of leg shackles. What for? it is asked. For insane American soldiers at Manila. The item did not surprise us. We were prepared for it. A few weeks ago there sat in our office an officer who came on from Manila in a transport with some 200 insane soldiers who are now in San Francisco. A few days ago we were shown the picture of some other insane soldiers who were then transferred to the hospital at Washington. 'Drink and dissipation/ said this officer, 'with the warm climate, caused insanity in nearly every case.' A chaplain writ- ing from Manila says the cursed American saloon is at the bottom of many a soldier's insanity. As the cHmate cannot be changed, but the drink can be removed, why not remove it?" Dr. Crane of Boston brought the truth out in The New York World with great effect, as follows : "The wrong we Methodists charge to the President, and for which he must answer, is not simply that he supports the canteen and permits the saloon in Manila — and he alone is responsible for its existence there — but that wrong consists in this : He nullifies the law of Con- gress by which the canteen is abolished ; he does this not in a manly, straightforward way by a veto, but by a char- acteristic shuffle, hiding behind the absurd construction of the law by Attorney-General Griggs. The President, Mr. Griggs, and the editor of the World, all know that the Griggs decision is nonsense. In fact, the Washington Sentinel, the liquor dealers' organ, says: 'Attorney-Gen- eral Griggs has adopted an evasion submitted by the attorneys of the liquor dealers.' This truckling to the liquor dealers, even to the nullification of a just law, is that which has aroused the Methodists of the nation." AMERICAN CIVILIZATION IN LUZON. 8i We have refrained from quoting the reHgious press, fearing it might look like sectarianism, but this we clip from an organ of the President's own denomination, "The Pennsylvania Methodists:" *'My office has overlooked for more than a year the d?' J procession of soldier boys, dragged by the police trom the jail to the mayor's office, and back to jail again for a term, for no more grave offense than drunkenness, many of them having taken their first glass in a McKinley canteen. When the war is over they will go to their homes to trample upon the hearts of father and mother, or wife and children; or possibly by the thousand they will swell the great army of tramps, already a disgrace to our civilization. The sight has wrung tears from eyes unused to tears. Our mission board has put the stamp of its approval on all this as 'gentlemanly,' 'Christian,' 'patriotic,' 'God-fearing.' Let me say to the reader, come and see what I have seen and your blood will boil as my blood is boiling now. If it were otherwise, I should despise myself." By truckling to the liquor traffic in the Philippines, our government was guilty of shedding the first blood of our Philippine war. By the debauchery resultant therefrom the Filipinos were disgusted, and by the accompanying insults and injuries were rightfully indignant. The American saloon as the advance guard of Ameri- can civilization, was justification for resisting American encroachments, entire. Our government has betrayed the best interests of our soldiers, the sacred trust of the welfare of the Fili- pinos, and the noblest sentiments of our country, to mur- derous greed, the motive power of "criminal aggression." Two years after the advent of the American army in the Philippines the facts are these, as vouched for by Mr. 82 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. William E. Johnson in The New Voice of August 30, 1900: "There are to-day 1,109 places in the city of Manila where intoxicating liquor is openly and publicly on sale, without counting any situated in alleys or the hundreds of blind pigs. Of these 1,109 places, 103 are full Amer- ican bars * * * seventy-five beer houses, bottle houses and liquor selling grocery stores. Then about 175 of the brothels have a wine and beer license. * * * There are a multitude of alleys, peep holes and dark places where liquor is sold after the blind pig fashion. * * =i= So far as the vino selling native and Chinese "shacks" are concerned, I do not believe that my figures include half of them." Referring to the licenses for these native shacks, Mr. Johnson says, "These licenses are not old Spanish licenses, but bear dates of this year, and are signed by Lieutenant Bishop, head of the Hcensing department. They cost three pesos ($1.50) per year." * * * "This does not include the saloons opened in other cities, or the 200 canteens scattered about the islands." Mr. Johnson, after giving the figures from an official report, says: "From this official report it appears that, during the first ten months of the American occupation, about twice as much liquor was imported into the Phil- ippines as in the other two years combined" (1893 and 1894, before the rebellion). Of the only brewery ever operated in the Philippines, Mr. Johnson writes that, "The business had increased 500 per cent within the past two years," as certified to by its superintendent. Summing up this matter in The New Voice of Septem- ber 6, 1900, Mr. Johnson says: "In brief, this is the net result of this flood of rum among the troops: During the American occupation, some 60,000 American soldiers have been in the hospitals. One of the chief surgeons of the First Reserve Hospital tells me that of all of these AMERICAN CIVILIZATION IN LUZON. 83 cases, twenty-five per cent or 15,000 were caused directly by drink. This estimate is corroborated by another of the physicians of the same hospital." Referring to the insane cases, Mr. Johnson adds in the same * oue of The New Voice this sad statement: "The head of a department in the First Reserve Hos- pital, who is familiar with the insane cases, — and nearly all of these cases go through the hospital before being sent to the States — tells me that they have shipped from five to thirty lunatic soldiers home on every transport which has sailed since the occupation, and that nearly every case was caused directly by liquor. Taking the average of this official's estimate and multiplying it by the number of transports which have sailed, we have a total of about 900 lunatic soldiers who have been shipped home to the States, nearly all made crazy by drink." If these were the worst features of the PhiHppine In- famy it would be bad enough, but they are not, sad to say, as Mr. Johnson writes in The New Voice of August 16, 1900: ''Newspaper men and officials estimate that there are from five to six hundred opium dens in Manila. There are no means available for ascertaining the true number. * * * With one or two exceptions the proprietors of these opium hells have slave girls upstairs whom they rent for immoral purposes. In most cases the upstairs consists of but a single room. Whatever is done in this room takes place before from three to a dozen spectators. It is an orgy of lust, indescribable, unspeakably frightful. Further than this, many of these opium joints have a Chinese gambling room in the rear." These dens of infamy, where girls are held as slaves for legalized rape, are licensed by the American military tyranny as saloons along with the brothels. In The New Voice of August 23, 1900, Mr. Johnson says : ''During the first year of the American occupation 84 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. eight hundred (800) prostitutes came to Manila." ''Not a prostitute can land in Manila without the express per- mission of the United States military authorities." But, he adds: "Women of this class who pay a 'tip' of $50 to the custom house officers find no difficulty in getting ashore. The best information that I can get in connec- tion with newspaper men, police reporters and officials is that there are now about 200 regularly licensed houses of prostitution in the city. In these establishments there are about 600 prostitutes who are under the direct con- trol of the military authorities, who represent American Christian civilization here. This does not include the swarms of loose women who have rooms and who prowl about the streets. It is simply the list of 'ladies' who submit to a weekly examination by the United States military doctors and pay four pesos a week for the same. "The prostitution business of the city is run under the supervision of a regular department of the military gov- ernment, the Department of Municipal Inspection. The chief of this 'department of prostitution' is Captain Todd, who has under him a big staff of assistants, inspectors, doctors, and flunkies of various sorts. This military bawdy house department is run on alleged scientific prin- ciples. A most rigid system of control, medical examin- ation and official inspection is in force, the same system which is advertised by zealots to 'remove all danger of contagion of this sort.' No woman is allowed to open an establishment of this kind without express permission of the military authorities who dispense the blessings of benevolent assimilation.' Moreover, she is obliged to take out a wine and beer license at a cost of one hundred pesos every six months. In addition to this, each inmate is obliged to submit to a medical examination once each week by the regularly authorized military physicians, and to pay four pesos for each examination." We can not venture farther Into the details of vice In this volume, but those wishing fuller Information as to this Iniquity can follow our references. Whole sections of Manila have been forsaken by re- AMERICAN CIVILIZATION IN LUZON. 85 spectable families, being ruined by the deluge of disso- lute women and drunken debauchees. A Germ?' physician who had spent years in Manila under Spanish rule, recently fled with his family from this reign of rottenness in Manila, saying when he reached Chicago en route for the east, that the Spanish regime was awful, but the American occupation so much worse that he had to leave, now referring to Manila as "a hell hole." But the blessings of American civilization are not con- fined to Manila, as the other islands and the Sulu Archi- pelago are all being "pacified." In The New Voice of August 30, 1900, Mr. Johnson says: ''In the Sulu Archipelago official houses of pros- titution have been opened on the canteen plan. * * * The officers were afraid that the soldiers would get be- yond control and make criminal assaults on the native women as they had so frequently done in Luzon among the Tagals," which would mean "a sure war." Mr. Johnson, who spent many months in personal inspection, concludes this article thus: "Of the one hun- dred thousand troops which have been sent here to civil- ize the natives, sixty thousand have gone through the hospitals. Of these sixty thousand boys, ten thousand have been stricken with infamous diseases. Moreover, this diseased host of ten thousand soldiers does not in- clude thousands of others who took private treatment of local physicians." Mr. Johnson informed the writer that his personal canvass of Manila, occupied him for weeks, during which he rode or walked hundreds of miles. In the course of the conversation he incidentally re- marked being taken by native detectives to see a house of ill-fame which was owned by the friars and had been 86 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. run, as the officers informed him, for eight years, for the benefit of the priests. He said it was on "Calle Rosario, near the Escolta — there yet" — if any one challenged his accuracy. As there were only a few priests in at the time, the detectives left them alone then, as they were ''laying for a big haul," as he put it, so this house hardly seems to be under the supervision of the "Department of Munici- pal Inspection." We now turn to Messrs. Sargent and Wilcox's report. CHAPTER XL PEACEFUL BUT PATRIOTIC. In one of his articles in "The Outlook" Mr. Sargent states: "Some years ago, at an exhibition held at Bar- celona^ Spain, a man and woman were exhibited as rep- resentative types of the inhabitants of Luzon. The man wore a loin cloth and the woman a scant skirt. It was evident that they belonged to the lowest plane of sav- agery. I think no deeper wound was ever inflicted upon the pride of the real Filipino population than that caused by this exhibition, the knowledge of which seems to have spread throughout the island. The man and the woman, while actually natives of Luzon, were captives from a tribe of wild Igorrotes of the hills; a tribe as hostile to the Filipinos as to the Spaniards themselves, and equally alien to both." These poor barbarians were exhibited in Spain for the purpose of deluding the people there into the belief that the Filipinos were wild savages, utterly uncivilized and unfit for self-government, so that their rights should not be recognized, and Spanish friars, financiers and politi- cians should have a free hand still to rob and despoil PEACEFUL BUT PATRIOTIC 87 them, and for much the same reason many of the false- hoods since circulated are being published. Referring to t^ i-eligious sentiments of those they met, the report states: 'Throughout the valley of the Rio Grande the ordinary ceremonies of worship were almost entirely suspended for want of persons ordained to con- duct them. In Ilocos and Union, however, natives had been promptly placed in the sacred offices left vacant by the imprisonment of the Spanish priests; and at the time of our visit they were conducting all the services of the church. Freedom of thought marked the views of every Filipino that I have heard express himself on the subject of religion. Although I certainly have met devout Catholics among them, I judge that that church, on account of the abuses with which it has been asso- ciated on the islands, has failed on the whole to secure an exclusive hold on the minds of the natives." Speaking of Spanish prisoners, including priests, sol- diers and civil officials, the report states : "We have seen representatives of each of these three classes in these towns. We could detect no signs of previous ill treat- ment, nor of undue restriction. On the contrary, they appeared to possess the freedom of the town in which they lived." Of one place it says: "There are no Span- iards here, with the exception of two or three merchants. One of these we have met. He is pursuing his business entirely unmolested." (See Par. 43.) This report, endorsed as it is by Admiral Dewey, ought to be a sufficient rebuke to those who have vilified the Filipinos for brutality to their prisoners. The fact that Spanish merchants were permitted to continue their business in peace and prosperity during their war with Spain is proof of their humanity. Those who question or cavil at this statement we will 88 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. refer to Admiral Dewey's unqualified official endorse- ment and his own official statements by cable. But to resume with Mr. Sargent's statements: 'Throughout the island a thirst for knowledge is man- ifested, and an extravagant respect for those who pos- sess it. I have seen a private native citizen in a town in the interior exercise a more powerful influence than all the native officials over the minds of the inhabitants, simply because he was known to have been educated in the best schools at Manila, and was regarded for that reason as a superior man. The heroes of these people are not heroes of war, but of science and invention. Without rival, the American who is best known by repu- tation in Luzon is Mr. Edison, and any native with the slightest pretension to education whom you may ques- tion on the subject will take delight in reciting a list of his achievements. The ruHng Filipinos, during the ex- istence of their provisional government, appreciated the necessity of providing public schools to be accessible to the poorest inhabitants. "We heard many tales, and were in a position to au- thenticate them to a great extent, of deeds that told in glowing terms of the endurance, and courage the Filipinos could display when impelled by a sufficient motive. Tlie revolution in Luzon Island was by no means a simulta- neous uprising of the population, and in its early stages the force that opposed the Spanish power was not over- whelming in its numbers. In the provinces far in the in- terior particularly the earlier encounters found the ad- vantage in the hands of the Spaniards, whose opponents were but small bands of the most daring and desperate natives of the vicinity, poorly armed, and entirely without organization or discipline. "Yet these pioneers of rebellion did win brilliant and surprising victories, and by their success encouraged their more timid neighbors to join their fortunes to the cause. * * * "At the time of our journey the patriotic enthusiasm of the population was everywhere at its height. The boast of every inhabitant was the national army, whose CADET SARGENT'S REPORT. 89 organization was then being rapidly perfected. Commis- sions were eagerly so^' ^^ht by the young men of the high- er class, and there .^ere more volunteers for service in the ranks than could be armed or uniformed. It was uni- versally asserted that every preparation should be made to defend the newly won independence of the island against all foreign aggression. The older Filipinos, especially those of wealth and influence, declared their desire to give every support in their power to the cause, and were as much a part of the warlike movement as those who actually took up arms. "That the civil power should be placed in the same hands was a dangerous experiment, but at the same time a necessary one. The first object of the Filipinos had been to win their independence; the next was to defend it. For both these purposes they had need of their best fighting material, and the selection was made accordingly. The result proved more fortunate than there had been reason to hope. While exercising absolute authority throughout the island and governing entirely by military law, the leaders ©f the army appeared, nevertheless, to endeavor to mete out justice to all classes alike. "They continued, moreover, to assert their intention to relinquish their temporary power when the establishment of a permanent peace should make such a step possible, and gave most encouraging proofs of the good faith with which they spoke. "On the whole, as far as I could judge, the tendency was upward. The young officers displayed an earnest desire to improve their minds for the benefit of the state, and seemed to be impelled by the ambition to prove themselves worthy of the trust that had been confided in them." Especial attention is asked to the following passages in this report^ as they go to prove the truthfulness of the last, and the good faith of the military officials in their avowed intention to relinquish their authority to civil officials as soon as peace made it possible, which was questioned by many skeptical persons. 90 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. We wish also to call attention to the fact asserted therein, that a native priest presided at the official cere- mony described. "At Aparri we went alongside the Philippina, and reached the wharf by crossing this vessel. We were met on board by Commandante Leyba, military commander of the province of Cagayan. We were taken to a private house, where we were quartered during our stay at Aparri. Here we met Colonel Tirona, commander of the military district, including the provinces of Nueva Viz- caya, Isabella, and Cagayan. He welcomed us cordially, and continued from that time to treat us in a very friendly manner. We remained at Aparri three days, until the departure of the steamer Oslo, November 9. (Par. 41.) 'The steamer Saturnas, which had left the harbor the day before our arrival, brought news from Hongkong papers that the Senators from the United States at the congress of Paris favored the independence of the islands, with an American protectorate. Colonel Tirona consid- ered the information of sufficient reHability to justify him in regarding the Philippine independence as assured and warfare in the island at an end. For this reason he proceeded to relinquish the military command he held over the provinces, and to place this power in the hands of a civil officer elected by the people. On the day fol- lowing our arrival in Aparri^ the ceremony occurred which solemnized this transfer of authority in the province of Cagayan. The presidentes locales of all the towns in the province were present at the ceremony, conducted by a native priest. After the priest had re- tired Colonel Tirona made a short speech, stating that, since in all probability permanent peace was at hand, it became his duty to relinquish the authority he had pre- viously held over the province, and to place it in the hands of a civil officer elected by the people. He then handed the staff of office to the man who had been elected 'jefe provincial.' This officer also made a speech, in which he thanked the disciplined military forces and their colonel for the service they had rendered the province, and assured them that the work they had INDEPENDENCE OR DEATH. 91 begun would be pei^ctuated by the people of the prov- ince, where every man, woman and child stood ready to take up arms to defend their newly won liberty, and to resist with the last drop of their blood the attempt of any nation whatever to bring them back to their former state of dependence. His speech was very impassioned. He then knelt, placed his hand on an open Bible, and took the oath of office. He was followed by the three other officers who constitute the provincial government, the heads of the three departments — justice, police, and internal revenue. Every town in this province has this same organization. At the time of our departure Colonel Tirona planned to go within a few days to IHgan, and from there to Bayombong, repeating this ceremony in the capital city of each province." (Par. 42.) CHAPTER Xn. THE FILIPINO NAVY. Before proceeding further with this report we wish to verify the statement herein made, that from such men as these came the Freemasons, Katipunans and Filipino patriots who have been and still are fighting the fearful battle for freedom and independence. Upon page 422 of Senate document No. 62, after re- ferring to Aguinaldo's arrival at Cavite in May, 1898, Gen. F. V. Greene, in his "Memoranda concerning the situation in the Philippines on August 30, 1898," which was included in the evidence presented to the Paris Peace Commission, stated: ''Soon afterward two ships which were the private property of Senor Agoncillo and other insurgent sympa- thizers, were converted into cruisers, and sent with in- surgent troops to Subig Bay and other places to capture provinces outside of Manila. They were very successful, the native militia in Spanish service capitulating with 92 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. their arms in nearly every case without serious resist- ance." In referring to the formation of the little Philippine navy which Admiral Dewey quietly confiscated without warning after he had finished using his Filipino friends and was ready to betray them for the benefit of their mortal foes, the friars, who had been "our common ene- my," Aguinaldo stated in his official ''Review of the Phil- ippine Revolution": "Shortly after, the Spanish steamer Compania de Fili- pinas arrived at Cavite, having been captured by the revolutionists in the waters of Aparri. This ship was at once provided with artillery and dispatched with troops to Olangapo, but I was obhged to order another gunboat to bring her back, at the request of Admiral Dewey, in order to determine the claim of the French Consul upon this steamer. Upon being informed that the Compania de Filipinas had been captured while flying the Spanish flag. Admiral Dewey refrained from taking up the matter, transmitting to me the letter of reclamation from the French Consul, and declaring that he saw no reason why his forces should interfere. "Thus this incident ended, which demonstrated clearly the recognition and protection which Admiral Dewey accorded to the Philippine revolution. "The Filipinas, for such was the name of the steamer henceforth, renewed her trip to Olangapo and on return- ing took on board the detail of troops sent to liberate the provinces of the valley of Cagayan and the Batanes Is- lands from the power of Spain. This steamer, which aft- erward changed her name again and is now called Luzon, ran aground in the Rio Grande of Cagayan and damaged her machinery, where it can be seen to-day. "In all the expeditions, our ships, before clearing, sa- luted the Olympia as flagship, fulfilling thus the duties of international courtesy, our salutes being replied to with equal demonstrations of friendship." The New Orient of Manila, under date of December KATIPUNANS AT SUBIG BAY. 93 30, 1899, contained the following account of the steamer "Filipinas," under censorship editing: *The steamer Compania de Filipinas, which figured prominently in the Subig Bay muddle, but which has re- cently been reported in the lost, strayed or stolen column, has been found, concealed in the Cagayan River, where she was deserted by Admiral Vincente Catalan of the in- surgent navy." * * * "During the period which followed the taking of Ma- nila Catalan led a mutiny while returning from the port of Aparri. * * * jl^ placed the vessel under the Katipunan flag and sailed into Subig Bay. An unsuc- cessful attempt was made by Catalan to have the gunboat Irene (German) recognize the flag the vessel flew." According to all accounts. of this occurrence, American, German and Spanish, the Irene interfered with the Fili- pino attack, and, refusing to recognize her flag, fired upon the Filipinas, which withdrew and informed Ad- miral Dewey of the trouble, then returned with flying colors, and the United States warships Concord and Raleigh, while the Irene steamed away, and the Span- iards surrendered "without serious resistanceir" , After a few shots were fired they raised the white flag, and, according to Capt. Coghlan's account, commanding the Raleigh at the time, the prisoners, property and place were turned over to the Filipinos, unconditionally, though the Spaniards are still protesting. This is one of the many instances which illustrate the faithful co-operation of the Americans and Filipinos, as allies, and proves that the "Katipunans" came to the aid of the Americans and acted as our loyal allies till Ad- miral Dewey no longer needed to "use" them as such. Then he seized their ships, confiscating their little navy without notice or warning of any kind. This act in itself was surely as hostile as any declaration of war or attack could possibly be. 94 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. Yet the first Philippine Commissioners, in their prelim- inary report claiming that there were no overtures upon our part for co-operation, said: *'Nor was there any co-operation of any kind between the contending respective forces, and the relations be- tween them were strained from the beginning." Of this interesting episode Admiral Dewey sent the following official report by cable, which was given out by the Washington government July 13, '98: "Aguinaldo informs me his troops have taken all of Subig Bay except Isla Grande, which he was pre- vented from taking by the German man-of-war Irene. On July 7 the Raleigh and Concord went there; they took the island and about 1,300 men, with arms and ammuni- tion. No resistance. The Irene retired from the bay on their arrival. * * * — Dewey." According to an Associated Press dispatch of that same date the commander of the Irene explained that he had interfered under the usual subterfuge "in the cause of humanity." Of this occurrence Mr. McCutcheon sent to the Chicago Record the following special cable: "A Spanish garrison in a fort on Isla Grande, in Subig Bay, was compelled to surrender to the Americans last Wednesday by the Raleigh and Concord, which were sent against it by Admiral Dewey. "The incidents leading up to the capture were quite remarkable. Some weeks ago the Spaniards on the island had been driven thither for refuge by the furious attacks of the insurgents on the mainland. There they had maintained themselves successfully. On July 5, however, the insurgents captured the Spanish steamer Filipinas, near Subig Bay, killing four of the ship's officers during the fight. The Filipinas was turned over to the insurgent army, which straightway converted it into a warship and used it in an attempt to capture the Spanish garrison on the Isla Grande. **Soon, however, the insurgent ship came in from Subig CO-OPERATION. 95 Bay to Manila Bay with a tale of woe for the ear of Ad- miral Dewey. The German warship Irene had interfered to prevent it from capturing the Spaniards and was still in Subig Bay to protect the garrison. Thereupon Ad- miral Dewey sent the Raleigh and Concord to take the fort on the Isla Grande. Arriving before it the Raleigh fired some shots at the fort, but did no damage. How- ever, the garrison promptly surrendered to the Ameri- cans. The Irene was in the bay at the time, but had nothing to say about the capture. At the fort were 400 Spanish soldiers with arms, 100 sick and 100 women. 'These prisoners will be turned over to Gen. Aguin- aldo by the Americans under the promise that they will receive good treatment." * * * — ^John T. McCutch- eon. Though the incidents in this case have become historic, even to the turning over of our Spanish prisoners by the Americans to the tender mercies of our Filipino alHes, whom the American mercenaries now call ''savages, cut- throats," and countless other abominable names, yet, notwithstanding this, the first American Philip- pine Commission declared in their preliminary report, strange to relate: "There never were any preconcerted operations or any combined movement by the United States and Filipinos against the Spaniards." Comment seems superfluous, but to make the best of it, and suppose that the otjier commissioners did not know what was done at that time and place, how could we say this for Admiral Dewey who directed operations then and there as commander of the American fleet? If igno- rantly they rendered a false report upon a matter of such overwhelming importance to millions of immortal souls, their guilt is almost, if not altogether, as great as though they knowingly falsified the facts in the case, as they could have ascertained the truth. May God have mercy on America, and upon those 96 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. who, we believe, wish to be great and good men, who have been misled and have misled our land of liberty from the highway of freedom and the plain path of duty into those despotic ways of old from which He led our forefathers long ago, and from which they fought so val- iantly to deliver themselves and their descendants, as the Filipinos are fighting to-day. Long before the report of Messrs. Sargent and Wilcox was made Aguinaldo had written to President McKinley a letter, to be found on pages 360-1 of Senate document No. 62, in part as follows: ''You well know that if God favors the triumph of your arms tO-day, to-morrow he may defeat them." * * -^ "A people * * '^^ thoroughly civilized, as nearly two- thirds of them can read and write, and as they have in their midst many men of high attainments in the sciences and arts, should not be sold as if it were a lamb to be ex- ploited for the greed of another nation. *^ * * ^ people which trusts blindly in you not to abandon it to the tyranny of Spain, but to leave it free and independent, even if you make peace with Spain, and I offer fervent prayers for the ever-increasing prosperity of your power- ful nation, to which and to you I shall show unbounded gratitude, and shall repay with interest that great obli- gation. Your humble servant, ''Emilio Aguinaldo." So blindly were they trusting us, according to this re- port, which bears Admiral Dewey's official endorsement for reliability, that even then, November 9, 1898, the mil- itary commander of that province was relinquishing his authority and handing the reins of government over to the civil officials duly elected by the people, because they believed the reports of the Hong Kong paperg, which stated that "the Senators from the United States at the congress of Paris favored the independence of the islands with an American protectorate." (Par. 42.) AN INTELLIGENT DEMOCRACY. 97 The statement in paragraph 41 that *'at Aparri we went alongside the PhiHppinas, and reached the wharf by crossing this vessel, which was the *Filipinas,' which flew the Katipunan flag at Subig Bay, shows the insurgents in this section to have been Katipunans, as we have claimed." We will now resume with paragraph 53 of this report. CHAPTER XIII. AN INTELLIGENT DEMOCRACY. 'The Philippine officers, both military and civil, that we have met in all the provinces that we have visited have, with very few exceptions, been men of intelligent appearance and conversation. The same is true of all those men who form the upper class in each town. The education of most of them is limited, but they appear to seize every opportunity to improve it. They have great respect and admiration for learning. Very many of them desire to send their children to schools in the United States or Europe. Many men of importance in different towns have told us that the first use to be made of the revenue of their government, after there is no more danger of war, will be to start good schools in every village. The poorer classes are extremely ignorant on most subjects, but a large percentage of them can read and write. (Par. 53.) "In the provinces of Nueva Icija, Nueva Vizcaya, Isa- bella, and Cagayan the native priests have no voice what- ever in civil matters. The Catholic church itself seems to have very little hold on the people of these provinces. Many men have expressed to us their preference for the Protestant church. In Ilocos Sur and Union there are many more priests than in the other provinces mentioned. Every pueblo and barrio«has its cura, and there are higher officers of the church in the larger towns. They appear to have an important influence in all civil matters. (Par. 56.) "Of the large number of oiificers, civil and military, 98 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. and of leading townspeople we have met, nearly every man has expressed in our presence his sentiment on this question. It is universally the same. They all declare they will accept nothing short of independence. They desire the protection of the United States at sea, but fear any interference on land. The question of the re- muneration of our Government for the expense of establishing a protectorate is never touched upon. On the subject of independence there is again a marked difference between the four provinces first visited and those of Ilocos Sur and Union. In the former there is more enthusiasm, the sentiment is more of the people; in the latter it is more of the higher class and of the army." (Par. 57.) To the foregoing testimony we could add almost any amount in confirmation, but will turn to official reports for verification. The official report of the first Philippine Commission contains the following plain statements upon pages 119 and 120: "The Commission, while not underrating the difficulty of governing the Philippines^ is disposed to believe the task easier than is generally supposed. For this confi- dence * * * j^ j^j^g ^j^g following among other grounds: First — The study by educated Filipinos of the various examples of constitutional government, has resulted in their selection, as best adapted to the condi- tions and character of the various people inhabiting the archipelago, of almost precisely the political institutions and arrangements which have been worked out in prac- tice by the American people; and these are also, though less definitely apprehended, the political ideas of the masses of the Philippine people themselves. "This point has been frequently illustrated in the course of the preceding exposition, and it must here suffice to say that the Commission was constantly surprised by the harmony subsisting between the rights, privileges, and institutions enjoyed by Americans, and the reforms de- sired by the best Filipinos. AN INTELLIGENT DEMOCRACY. 99 "Secondly — In addition to the adaptation of the Amer- ican form of government to the Fihpinos, the FiUpinos themselves are of unusually promising material. They possess admirable personal and domestic virtues; and though they are uncontrollable v^hen such elemental pas- sions as jealousy, revenge, or resentment are once aroused, most of them, practically all of the civilized inhabitants of Luzon and the Visayas, are naturally and normally peaceful, docile, and deferential to constituted authority. On the suppression of the insurrection, the great majority of them will be found to be good, law- abiding citizens. Thirdly — Though the majority of the inhabitants are uneducated, they evince a strong desire to be instructed, and the example of Japan is with them a cherished ideal of the value of education. A system of free schools for the people, another American institution, it will be noted, has been an important element in every Philippine program of reforms. Fourthly — The edu- cated Filipinos, though constituting a minority, are far more numerous than is generally supposed, and are scat- tered all over the archipelago; and the Commission de- sires to bear the strongest testimony to the high range of their intelligence, and not only to their intellectual training, but also to their social refinement as well as to the grace and charm of their personal character. These educated Filipinos, in a word, are the equals of the men one meets in similar vocations — law, medicine, business, etc., — in Europe or America." Upon page loi is the following statement: 'The Filipinos to-day (always excepting the Sulu groups and parts of Mindanao) are a pure democracy without distinctions of birth or rank; a mass of people without hereditary chieftains or rulers." CHAPTER XIV. SULU SAVAGERY. To bring the facts in the case clearly to view we must present the opposite picture of it. lOO THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. President Schurman of the first Philippine Commission also said of the natives of the Sulu Archipelago and Moro subjects of the Sultanate: 'They are * * * powerful, religious fanatics * * * who care nothing for death, and believe that the road to heaven can be attained by killing Christians." Gen. E. S. Otis, in his official report of August 31, 1899, upon the 157th page, states that "The Sultan's gov- ernment is one of perfect despotism, in form at least. * * * The Moro political fabric bears resemblance to the state of feudal times — the Sultan exercising su- preme power by divine right," life or death of any under him being subject to his caprice. Article 3 of the treaty with the Sultan provides that "All their religious customs shall be respected," which in- cludes among some tribes horrible human sacrifices. Some of these are nature worshipers, who enslave captives taken in tribal conflicts, and sacrifice them to appease their demon deities when in trouble. But this being a "religious ceremony," like the Mo- hammedan "juramentado," when a fanatical Mohamme- dan goes forth to kill every Christian he can run amuck of, must of course "be respected" by the highly civilized, enlightened and humane government at Washington, which would seem to know no law except that of the al- mighty dollar, expediency and duplicity. The loth article of this treaty allowing human slavery in the Sulu Archipelago, contrary to the 13th Amend- ment of the Constitution of the United States, which pro- hibits slavery in the United States or "any place subject to their jurisdiction," shows that such trifles as the Con- stitution of our country are of no account to our present "rulers." CLAES ERICSSON'S ACCOUNT. lOI To impress upon the reader the importance of these points we will bring another eye-witness to the stand. Taking the report of the Paris Peace Commission, on page 577 of Senate Document No. 62, part 2, 55th Con- gress, we find a statement by Claes Ericsson telling of a trip he took to the benighted island of Palawan in 1894, from which we select a few passages, as follows: 'The next day I called upon Paduka Magasori Mau- lana Amiril Mauminin, Sultan Muhammad Harun Naras- sid, lang de per Tuan, ex-Sultan of the Sulu Islands, once the home of the most bloodthirsty pirates that ever sailed the China Sea, which is saying a great deal. On arriving at the royal village of Bolini Bolini, which com- prised 'the palace' and half a dozen various huts of bam- boo, my presence was announced by a gong stroke, which brought out the master of ceremonies. Invited to step within, I crawled up the bamboo ladder — the 'palace' stood on the usual piles — crossed the veranda, and in the farthest apartment found his highness of the many titles sitting cross-legged on a divan. "The ex-Sultan is all powerful in Palawan. The Span- iards have no real authority, and never interfere with the natives, except when Europeans or Chinamen are con- cerned. Some idea of the situation may be gathered from the following incident which happened during my stay at Marangas : The Sultan's son, a boy of ten, desiring to visit Lieutenant Garcia, came with a crowd of retainers at his heels, all armed to the teeth with guns, pistols, spears and the seldom absent kris. Every man pressed into the stockade. Had the Spaniards tried to keep them out, there would have been a fight. The danger was great, but all passed of¥ quietly, although a few weeks before a Sulu who had stolen by the sentries ran amok at the lieutenant, who would have lost his life within his own stockade had not half a dozen soldiers come to the rescue. At that time there was fighting almost daily in the Sulu Islands and Mindanao." Of another experience, with the common people rather than royalty in this instance, Mr. Ericsson wrote: 102 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. **In the evening one of my Sulus came and whispered in my ear: 'Tuan, datu^ him say, Ada orang putih naik disini, baik buleh^ taki djangan dia balek,' which, trans- lated, means, 'Sir, the datu (chief) has said, 'Let the white man come here, but take care that he does not return.' "The prospect was not pleasant. I consulted Minico (a Manila Filipino) at once. He informed me that it was generally known that the datu of the district and the Sultan were not on friendly terms, meaning that if his highness of Bolini Bolini could catch the chief, kris or bowstring would speedily settle the quarrel; but Minico did not think the datu would harm me. He was inclined to believe that the Sulus wished me to hasten from the neighborhood of the Panglima's village without coolies for some motive of their own. An hour afterward the faithful fellow touched my arm, signing me to follow him. With a finger on his mouth he led the way to the hut occupied by my rascally crew. Approaching noiselessly, we listened to their conversation. They were talking about me. I heard one suggest that a push over a cliff would be the safest way to compass my end. Another declared that would be foolish. It would be much better to take me a long way up the mountains and hold me there for a ransom of $300. The majority seemed to be of this opinion, and Minico and I stole away. Between the datu and the 'Men of the Sea' I seemed likely to come to grief, but forewarned is forearmed. "We ascended the mountain next day. Nothing hap- pened, perhaps because my revolver was seldom out of my hand. Leaving men to collect the plants, I re- turned with the Sulus to the coast and embarked for Marangas." With his next scene we return to the regions of royalty. "Wanting coolies for a journey to Datu Gnah's village and an ascent of Panilingan Mountain, I paid the Sultan another visit; but the master of ceremonies whispered that the moment was unfavorable. His highness was susa — that is, he had been vexed or troubled. "By means of direct inquiries I learned the nature of SULU SAVAGERY SANCTIONED. 103 his susa. It is a rather common story in the far East. Unable to lodge the whole of his wives in the 'palace,' his highness boarded a few of them — not the prettiest, I suspect — in the houses of his followers. One of these peris, an outcast from the Palawan paradise through want of room, consoled herself in the usual way — quite inno- cently, I was assured. The news reaching the Sultan, he sent for the venturesome lover and smilingly bade him be seated opposite himself. Not being altogether an idiot, the man had come armed. From his sarong the jeweled handle of his kris protruded, plain to see. After a few complimentary commonplaces had been exchanged his highness remarked the weapon: ** 'Allah has been good to you, S'Ali,' he said. Those emeralds are very fine, and the diamonds are as stars in the Heavens. If the blade match the hilt, you have a treasure. Show it to me.' 'Thrown off his guards S'Ali drew his kris from its sheath, and holding it by the wavy blade, presented it to the Sultan. Instantly half a dozen of his highness' at- tendants threw themselves upon the unfortunate fellow. He was overpowered in a moment and his hands securely tied behind his back. " Take him out,' said the Sultan, still smiling. "S'Ali was led away and lowered to the ground. Not a word did he utter. It was Kismet. Why waste his breath? I did not learn the manner of his death, by kris or bowstring. Let us hope it was the first. In the hands of a skillful executioner the kris is a merciful weapon. He was buried in the jungle behind the Sultan's 'palace.' " Such despotic savagery has not only the sanction but support of the great Christian Republic of America, even to the payment of so-called "salaries," really bribes, to induce its chiefs to allow our democratic flag to float in peace over their, as General Otis has termed it, "perfect despotism," but the Christian Filipino Catholics who seek democratic freedom under republican government must be hunted to death, or unconditionally surrender. Upon page 553 of Senate Document No. 62 is a paper 104 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. prepared by Mr. Frederick H. Sawyer, British Consul for the Philippines for 1885, forwarded as evidence for the Paris Peace Commissioners under date of August 26, 1898, from which we quote one paragraph only, by way of contrast with the scenes among the Sulus: 'Terhaps the most remarkable talent of the Tagal is his gift for instrumental music. Each parish has its brass band supplied with European instruments and gen- erally wearing a uniform. If the village is rich there is usually a string band in addition. These bands perform operatic and dance music with the greatest precision, and their services at balls and other entertainments can be ob- tained at a moderate cost. Dancing is a favorite amuse- ment among the natives and half-castes, and they dance in the European manner, waltzes, polkas, and the old- fashioned rigadoon. The brilliant dresses of the native women produce a fine effect in a well-lighted ball room. The Grand Duke Alexis thought the ball given him by Don Joaquin Arnedo Cruz of Sulipan one of the most brilliant sights he had ever seen." We call the world to witness from the facts presented in this case that the pretence that the real reason for not allowing the civilized. Christianized, intelligent Filipino native Catholics the liberty of self-government, under their own leaders, with republican institutions like our own, because of unfitness, is the most abhorent and ap- parent hypocrisy. The fact that the savage, degraded barbarians and semi-Mohammedans of the Sulus and Mindanao have been allowed their own government under a most des- potic rule, contrary to all our traditions, with such "reli- gious" customs as polygamy, slavery and human sacri- fices, is proof positive of this assertion. The reasons for this are easily seen. There are no friars to be freed, and no stolen estates to be restored, ORIGIN OF THE KATIPUNAN. 105 and no rich parishes to be retained among the Moham- medans against the will of native Catholics. CHAPTER XV. FREEMASONS AND KATIPUNANS. That there may be no misapprehension as to the re- lations of the Masonic order and the Katipunan Society in the Phihppines, we quote the following article upon this subject in the ''New Orient" of Manila dated Decem- ber 9, 1899, which seems to state the case quite clearly, and, as we believe, quite correctly: "The Katipunan Society was an outgrowth from the Masonic order. Dr. Rizal, its founder, was a Freemason, and though the two societies are distinct and have no official connection, it is well known that the leading Katipunans were Masons, and that the older order formed the strength and bulwark of the younger. This is shown in the fact that the hostility of the Katipunans was strongly directed against the friars, who had long persecuted the Masons, at one time imprisoning no fewer than 3,000 of them in the dungeons of Manila. This the Masons did not forget, but bided their time for revenge. The Katipunan Society was organized as the great agent of retribution upon these oppressors, and indeed, upon the Spaniards as a whole, who were to be destroyed by any means, fair or foul. "Dr. Rizal was not only the founder of the Katipunau Society, but it was he who drew up its constitution and devised its mystic rites. These were of a dread and im- pressive character, in harmony with the remorseless na- ture of the oath taken by the members, a terrible obliga- tion which breathed vengeance upon Spain and every- thing Spanish. The ceremonies were as weird and mys- terious as Oriental ingenuity could devise. Each member of the organization received the 'brotherhood mark,' which was an incision made on the left forearm or the left knee with a knife of peculiar form, the handle of I06 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. which was covered with the pecuHar symbols of the so- ciety. The candidate was further obliged to sign the roll of the order with his own blood. The third finger of the left hand was pricked until the blood flowed, and with this finger the name was traced on the paper. The cicatrice caused by the knife wound served one useful purpose. It was adopted as a mark of recognition, the mystic mark of the association. The work or the plans of the league were never discussed with one who did not bear the significant mark of brotherhood. 'The Katipunan instantly sprang into popular favor. Its operations, however, were conducted with the greatest secrecy, for the Spanish authorities soon became aware of its existence, and recognizing its threatening charac- ter, resolved to destroy it, root and branch. But this it was by no means easy to do. The seeds of disaffection had been scattered far and wide over the islands, and wherever they fell there sprang up a branch lodge of the great order^ whose central society was at Cavite. But though it was too widespread and too secret to be exter- minated, it had one prominent martyr. Dr. Rizal was at length suspected of being the chief agitator in the revolu- tionary movement and paid the penalty with his life. ''Many of its members, indeed, I know to be in the ranks of the insurgents to-day, but the society, since it has attained its aim in the expulsion of the Spaniards, is no longer so powerful and united as it was. There have been one or two attempts at its revival, that it might be used against the Americans, but fortunately these have failed. The total membership reaches the large figure of 50,000. Ramon A. Lala." In confirmation of the fact that many members of the Masonic or Katipunan Societies fought in the Filipino ranks, we quote from an interview with Sergeant Fritz Andreae, which was published in "The Chicago Record" and related to the capture of himself and Wm. H. Reeves, Jr., as follows: "We went to the Philippines in June, 1898, and were there when Manila was captured. We had charge of MASONIC INSURGENTS. 107 photographing for the war department. Gen. Otis wanted some photographs of the insurgent intrench- ments, and he sent us to Dagupan, at the terminus of the railroad^ about 127 miles from Manila. We wore white duck suits and pith helmets, and the only indica- tion that we were American soldiers was the chevron on our arms. "Now Aguinaldo had issued a special edict against photographing, and when we were captured we were about to be treated as spies — taken out and shot. We knew we must fight for time, so we pretended 'not to understand,' though we did. The officers sent for an Englishman who lived in the town, and I found that he belonged to the same fraternal society that I did." The interview went on to state that they were there- upon set free and treated as trusted friends instead of treacherous foes. The writer asked Sergeant Andreae what fraternity it was that saved him, and he replied that the Englishman was a Freemason, and he had found many members of that organization in the Filipino army and throughout the country. As soon as they had been released they were accorded every kindness and courtesy wherever they went. Re- turning to Manila by way of Malolos, they visited Aguinaldo's headquarters and heard him deliver his ad- dress upon the celebration of the Filipino Independence Jubilee, September 13, 1898, witnessing the ceremonies of that occasion with great interest. Coming in contact with the Filipinos, and becoming acquainted with the people in their homes and social life, and attending the sessions of the Philippine Con- gress, they were astonished at the civilization, culture and refinement that they found among them. Having strong friends In influential quarters at home, as soon as they reached Manila they telegraphed to I08 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. Washington: 'Tor God's sake get us out of this coun- try," and returned to America to tell the truth of the sit- uation as they had seen it. Sergeant Andreae declared in an interview published in Chicago papers: "I want to be understood to say that a horrible wrong is being done by prosecuting the war in the Philippines. The natives are civilized and industrious^ and are capable of self-government." During a brief stay in Chicago Messrs. Andreae and Reeves delivered an illustrated address at All Soul's Church, arousing intense sympathy and interest in the Filipino cause among their auditors, and their expe- riences, though more recent and told in stronger terms, could not have been more strikingly corroborative of the report of Messrs. Wilcox and Sargent, endorsed so strongly by Admiral Dewey officially, and forwarded for official information. Expecting to find uncivilized, or semi-civilized sav- ages, they were astonished to find homes of wealth and refinement, and schools wherein the children surprised them, with their knowledge of rudimentary education. The familiar sounds of both sewing machines and pianos greeted them, while brass bands and orchestras abounded. Their description of the formal declaration of the Phil- ippine Republic at Malolos, with their photographic views of its scenes, showed a state of civilization that would have been creditable to any of our Central or South American Republics. The pictures of the Filipinos' trenches after the battles told a pathetic tale of valor that knew no fear or flinch- ing in their heroic life and death struggle for liberty, where their defences were piled deep with dead and wounded Filipinos. PRISONERS PRAISE FILIPINOS. 109 As soon as one man fell a dozen were ready to grasp the gun from his dead hands and face the foe fearlessly, to fall in turn, in the unequal contest against Catlings, automatic and rapid-fire guns and American artillery. Armed with nothing but bolos or knives, they were known to stand and die by the thousands thus. Lest it might be thought that because he was a Free- mason Sergeant Andreae fared unusually well, we will quote from an Associated Press dispatch dated Manila, Sept. 30, 1899: 'This has been an eventful day with the northern out- post of Americans at Angeles. Early this morning the Filipino commission appeared. The Americans fol- lowed." * * * Then comes a description of the Filipinos which we omit passing to the coming of the prisoners. "There soon appeared a second party of fourteen Americans, marching between files of insurgent soldiers. They looked the picture of health and were dressed in new Filipino uniforms of blue gingham, carrying mon- keys and other presents from Filipino friends." Then comes an account of the interview of officials which we pass for this testimony : "The prisoners unani- mously praised their treatment. One man said: 'We have been given the best the country afforded — fine houses for quarters, servants, good food and plenty of wine and money allowance. Aguinaldo visited us and shook hands, but three of the boys refused to shake hands with him.' " "Judging from the stories of the prisoners they must have been lionized by the people. * * * They agree in saying that the Filipinos all say they are 'tired of war, but will fight for independence to the last.' "The released soldiers also say the idea of independence has taken firm hold of the Filipinos, and they threaten if no THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. conquered to exterminate the Americans by assassina- tion. "Aguinaldo, they said, seemed popular among all the people the prisoners met." While the Filipinos had supplies, their prisoners fared well, apparently. During a private interview with Sergeant Andreae, he informed us that the Macabebes, from whom have come the only really friendly natives^ and who have formed the volunteer scouts for the Americans, were bitter enemies of Freemasonry^ being most loyal to Spain and Roman- ism. As this is the case we call their acknowledged leader as a witness, quoting from the Manila Times of May 9, 1900: ''Colonel Blanco writes to the Trogreso' protesting against the scandalous insinuations of the 'Libertas' as to his sincerity and honor. These insinuations were the immediate cause of the visit paid by representatives of the Trogreso' to the 'Libertas' office last Saturday, when the friars prepared an ambush and attacked the Tro- greso' men with sticks and other weapons, as already reported. 'Tlanco is a colonel of the famous Macabebe Volun- teers, who retained their loyalty to Spain up to the very last. Colonel Blanco says that he and his volunteers have as yet received no pay from Spain for their services, as alleged by 'Libertas,' and that though he expects his men will get paid ultimately, he himself resigns all claim because he wants nothing. As to the friars, he mentions some interesting facts. 'Tirst, in San Fernando de la Pampanga, the Vicario Foraneo of the province refused a drink of water to a wounded and blood-stained Spanish soldier. General Monet, hearing of this, was going to shoot the vicar forthwith, when Colonel Blanco, by some authority he calls 'royal prerogative,' interceded and got him off. "Again in the town of Macabebe the friar in charge of MACABEBE VERSUS FRIARS. Ill the parish was trying to collect 25 cents for every candle which was used in the temporary hospital, night after night, while the sick and wounded were being looked after. These candles only cost five or six cents each, but it has been customary for friars to have a monopoly of the sale of candles and to charge high prices because the candles were supposed to be blessed. The Spanish General thought this an outrage in the case of the sick and wounded, whatever it might be in the Sin-Shifting business, and was going to severely punish the rapa- cious friar. Blanco again used his influence to save the man from well deserved punishment. ''Again in Macabebe, when the rebels had the place within their grasp, they offered to spare all Spaniards if the twenty-two friars who had taken refuge there were handed over. Blanco, acting simply on the principle that Spaniards ought to stand by each other, refused to hand them over and took the consequences. ''Blanco, as a Filipino loyal to Spain, fully appreciated the injury that the friars did to the Philippines as well as to Spain in causing so much hatred to the Spaniards solely on account of the friars. Yet he always treated them honorably and considerately, yet all the thanks he gets from the friars is to be cursed as a filibuster, a scoundrel, and, worst of all, a Mason, and the wonder is that they have not made away with him. "In Macabebe, his native town, he is at any time he wishes absolute king, reverenced by all the Macabebes as their chief, whatever flag he chooses to serve. More- over, during the time that he was Governor of the is- land of Seipan, in the Marianas, his example and influ- ence among the simple natives was such that they have petitioned to be permitted to retain Spanish nationality. This love for Spain, says Blanco in his letter to the 'Pro- greso,' cannot be placed to the credit of the Spanish friars, who compelled the dead to be thrown into the sea if the sum of four dollars was not forthcoming for decent Christian burial. "Finally, Colonel Blanco, while disclaiming any inten- tion to glorify himself for his services to Spain, points out the undoubted fact that his own place, Macabebe, 112 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. is the most loyal in the whole archipelago, and his own people are a standing proof of what Spain might have done with all the Filipino nation." Possibly our own pro-friar, Spanish sympathizing poli- ticians, may learn a lesson from what this loyal Catholic and friendly Filipino says. Again, to guard against any seeming Masonic or Prot- estant bias, we will quote from another well known Ro- man Catholic authority as regards the character and ob- ject of the Order of Freemasons or the Katipunans in the Philippines. In the issue of "Public Opinion" for August 24, 1899, is a condensation of an article in the "New York Inde- pendent" by Ramon Reyes Lala, a former native Filipino Catholic, as already stated, but now a naturalized citizen of the United States, in which he writes : "The long and desperate struggle for Philippine inde- pendence which began in 1896 against the Spanish, and in 1899 is still continued against their successors, the Americans, owes its origin and strength to a widespread secret society, the Katipunan, or League, to which all the leaders and most of the members of the party of patriots belong. It was organized in 1894, by Dr. Jose Rizal, poet, patriot, political philosopher, and finally martyr to the cause of liberty, its object being to expel the Spaniards from the islands and establish an independ- ent native republic. It spread with such rapidity that in no great time it numbered fully 50,000 members, by whom and their followers was fought the bitter war. Aguinaldo, Luna, Agoncilla, Francisco Roxas, Pedro Roxas, Artacho, Mabini, and others whom I might name were all prominent members of this powerful organiza- tion. To it also belonged many native priests, a class which has always been foremost in the movement of op- position to Spanish tyranny. The same cannot in any sense be said of the priesthood of Spanish origin, since these have been the bulwark of Spanish tyranny. The FREEMASONS VERSUS FRIARS. II3 great element of opposition to the priesthood in the Phil- ippines has been the Order of Freemasons, and from this the Katipunan arose. For years the Masons have been cordially hated and greatly persecuted by the priests, who looked upon them as the enemies of religion and the dis- turbers of public order. The hostility of the Katipunans was strongly directed against the friars, who had long persecuted the Masons, at one time imprisoning no fewer than 3,000 of them in the dungeons of Manila. This the Masons did not forget, but bided their time for revenge. The Katipunan society was organized as the great agent of retribution upon these oppressors." CHAPTER XVI. FRIARS VERSUS FREEMASONS. The Manila Freedom for July 4, 1899, stated that, owing to the bitter feud between the friars and Free- masons in 1893: "The founding of the K. K. K." (mean- ing the Katipunan) "was therefore a most welcome op- portunity in their eyes (that is, the eyes of the priests), as they hoped the Katipunan Society might commit some overt act which would enable the friars to proceed to crush it out, and owing to their close connections, at the same time annihilate Freemasonry in the Philippines." Utterly unscrupulous in their cruelty, and thoroughly skilled in treachery, they proceeded by plots and intrigues to work the ruin of all suspected of sympathy in any way with these societies, and the 4th of July number of "The Manila Freedom" for 1899 shows how their schem- ing defeated their deviltry. This statement is to be found in the fourth and fifth columns on the third page of that paper, as follows: "With all their cunning, however, they committed the fatal error of founding a university and a clerical semi- nary, both of which institutes became the real nurseries 114 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. of filibustering ventures. The professors of the uni- versity for the most part were quite ignorant of the sub- jects they were supposed to teach, were unable to prevent their pupils from convincing themselves of their ignor- ance, and it was just that half learning of which the eager Filipinos very soon mastered themselves that turned them into dangerous enemies. "The clerical seminary became the birthplace of bit- terest foes to the monks. The native clergy trained with- in those walls never received any but the poorest and hardest worked parishes, and were treated by the monks more like servants than as colleagues. As a rule these na- tive clergy were ignorant, dirty and immoral, in fact were without principle and utterly unable to exercise any bene- ficial influence upon others. The blame for this, how- ever, does not attach to them alone, but in as great a measure to their unprincipled but outwardly refined and polished teachers, the Spanish monks. All the circum- stances tended naturally to constitute the native priests the bitterest enemies of the Spanish monks with whose many cunning ways they were quite familiar, being from time to time called upon to aid them or co-operate with them in exercise of their functions. The natives con- tended, and with justice, that the parishes represented by the monks really belonged to them, as according to a Spanish law those parishes were to be served by the monks under the title of monks only while there still remained pagans to convert within them, and the civil power was not sufficiently well represented there. "These circumstances, taken together with the impo- tence and utter incapacity of the Spanish Government in regard to them, were bound sooner or later to lead to rebellion. The Spanish officials and governors only came to this country with the idea of filling their pockets by any means, and as speedily as possible, as with each change of cabinet they were liable to lose their office, and with the uncertainty of their position in the Philip- pines, they could not possibly, even with the best of in- tention, look after the welfare of the country. As for contending in any way with the monks, who were fa- miliar with the languages of the country and with every A RELIGIOUS REVOLT. 1 15 prevailing condition, on the contrary, they were com- pelled to have resource to their guidance before they could take any step whatever. 'This ignorance of the languages and habits and cus- toms of the country was the greatest mistake of Spanish colonial policy. The officials of the colonial power must be familiar with the language of this colony. Once being possessed of that knowledge, acquaintance with manners and customs and prevailing conditions soon follow, and if the Americans desire to obtain a solid foot- ing in the country their officials will have to learn the native languages. For the rest, the Europeans must re- main in the eyes of the natives as a closed book, and this the English and Dutch have thoroughly grasped in their colonies. Such were the evils resulting from the gross ignorance of the Spanish authorities in the Philippines, and they would have lasted even longer had not Dr. Jose Rizal, in his fine classic novels, opened the eyes of his compatriots to the cupidity of the Spanish officials, the barbarity of the Guardia Civil, and, above all, the shame- less deeds of the Spanish monks. Even as Rousseau, Voltaire, ^nd the other encyclopaedists were the intel- lectual forces that brought about the upheaval of the French Revolution, so Dr. Rizal must undoubtedly be acknowledged as the primary cause of the Philippine Re- bellion." The following dispatch of the Associated Press will show how the situation stood in 1899: "Manila, July 23. — 6:15 p. m. — A Filipino priest named Gregorie Agripay, with the insurgents, is trying to lead a movement for the independence of the church in the Philippines from the Spanish priesthood. He has issued a proclamation declaring himself the Vicar Gen- eral of all the Filipino priests in the districts outside of American control on the Island of Luzon, and is inciting the priests to disobey the regulations of the church and brotherhoods. The Archbishop of the district has is- sued a bull excommunicating Agripay, and this action has increased the feeling between the Filipinos and the church. "The Archbishop threatened to excommunicate the Il6 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. owners of Spanish papers publishing announcements of Protestant and Masonic meetings, whereon an American paper warned him that he might be expelled from the island like any disturber of the peace if he should incite rehgious animosities." This order of the Archbishop's, however, could not have been directed against native Freemasonry, for that had virtually vanished. To show how thoroughly the work of extermination had been carried out under American control, we relate the following incident: As pictures of Masonic badges, taken from photo- graphs of originals in the Philippines ranging all the way from the first to thirty-third degrees, had been published in the papers in June, 1898, a very well known Chicago Mason wrote to Mr. John T. McCutcheon con- cerning them. After waiting a year for an answer, he received a reply with the reason for its long delay. Mr. McCutcheon, who, as war correspondent for "The Chicago Record," had every possible facility which any one could have for finding them, reported that he had tried in vain for one year to find a Filipino Masonic badge. He wrote: "Under the Spanish reign it was a punishable crime for natives to belong to secret orders, hence those who are members still keep that fact a secret. The local name of the semi-Masonic societies was Cata- punan." Signed, "John T. McCutcheon." To show how the Filipino Freemasons and Katipu- nans were hunted out of existence by the friars, we refer again to official records. In his evidence before the Peace Commissioners at Paris, General Charles A. Whittier of the United States Volunteers, who received the surrender of Manila from EXCOMMUNICATION AND EXTERMINATION. 1 17 the Spaniards, presented four figures carved in wood for their investigation. His statement that "the tortures inflicted with the same view of eHciting confessions are too brutal to commit the narrative to paper," with his description of the "four carvings in wood representing tortures inflicted,'' can be found upon page 408 of Senate Document No. 62, part 2, of the Records of the 55th Congress, from which we quote as follows: "Figure No. i. — This figure represents the chastisement which one of the municipal authorities of Jaen (Nueva Ecija) suffered in the prison of that town, the Spanish employees of the prison entertaining them- selves by applying the most horrible tortures. Figure No. 2. — This represents an honorably and peaceably in- clined resident, in a village of the province of Nueva Ecija, taken prisoner, brutally treated for being sus- pected^ without cause, of belonging to the Katipunan, and afterward shot. Figure No. 3. — This figure repre- sents one of the many natives of the Philippines whom, during the late insurrection, the Spaniards shot without previous trial in the outskirts of the village, leaving their corpses without burial. Figure No. 4. — This figure rep- resents Mr. Moses Salvador, a young Tagalo, who stud- ied several years in Europe. He is a native of Manila, and was imprisoned in September, 1896, for being a Freemason, was horribly martyrized in the headquarters of the police, and after many months of imprisonment was shot, by order of the Spanish General Polavieja, in the Luneta, in company with several of his countrymen, all condemned on the same charge, of which several were absolutely innocent." The Chicago Inter Ocean published the following un- der date of Manila^ January 5, 1900, from a special corre- spondent : Il8 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. "Last Sunday morning the native police raided the house at No. 4 Ugalde street, and after making a careful search found four hand grenades, loaded with black pow- der, and fitted with percussion caps, hidden under a pile of rubbish in the back-yard. In the house they also found a number of documents evidently relating to the Kati- punan, and containing a large number of names, signed in red ink, that an evening publication has called blood. 'Thirteen natives were arrested, including one very old man, who makes his living selling salt, and his little son. This arrest was made on the barest suspicion, which has since turned out to be ungrounded. '*An examination of the prisoners revealed the fact that most of them were newsboys and muchachos, who have lived in Manila for the last six months, and no evi- dence detrimental to them has been produced. *The grenades are antiquated affairs, and the Kati- punan papers are yellow with age, and dated back two or three years. In all probability the grenades were hid- den under the rubbish pile previous to the insurrection. 'The capture at first created great excitement, in- creased by a lie, emanating from the fertile brain of a practical joker, to the effect that there had been a plot formed to blow up the funeral procession of Major Gen- eral Lawton, and the four granades were to be used on the occasion. 'Tn the opinion of a certain police officer, the house of Vincente Reyes, where the grenades and documents were found, has been the harborage for a number of in- surgents, who have been endeavoring to stir up another outbreak in Manila. However, the native police seem to have made their raid at a time when none of the rebels were in the building." Possibly this was such a house as Consul .Williams wrote of in his letter from Manila of March 2J, 1898, to be found upon pages 321 and 2 of Senate Document No. (y2, part 2, of the 55th Congress, from which we quote the following account of Spanish "patriotism": ''On Friday morning, March 25, a church holiday, a EXCOMMUNICATION AND EXTERMINATION. 1 19 meeting of natives was being held near my consulate in Manila, the natives being unarmed. The building was surrounded by police and military, the meeting broken up, twelve natives wantonly shot to death, several wounded and sixty-two taken prisoners. Saturday morn- ing, March 26, the sixty-two prisoners were marched in a body to the cemetery and shot to death, although it was shown that several were chance passers-by or em- ployees in ships adjoining, not being in attendance at the meeting. It was cold comfort to the widows and orphans of innocent men to have Spanish officers present them the mangled corpses of husbands and fathers." These are fair specimens of many attempts at present, as in the past, to attribute to the Masonic or Katipunan bodies incendiary deeds of which they never dreamed, but which, like former "plots," were originated and ex- ploited by the "holy" friars to further their nefarious ends. They are upon a par with the insurrectionary circulars printed and distributed by the monks, when Governor General Despujols discovered them in the act of printing and circulating said seditious documents and attributing them to Dr. Rizal, so as to cause his arrest and execution. Such probably was the source of some famous or rather infamous edicts said to have been issued for the extermi- nation of all foreigners in the Philippines in 1898. We wish to remind those self-righteous hypocrites who raise their bloody hands in holy horror, as they re- peat and replenish all such reports, without one word of reprobation for our war of cruel conquest, with all its inexcusable and attendant consequences of inexpressible sorrow, suffering and woe, that "actions speak louder than words," and actual facts count for more than cur- rent fiction and falsehood. 120 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. CHAPTER XVII. AMERICAN MISDEMEANORS. The facts in the case, according to official records, might surprise some of our so-called American "patriots" immensely if made known. On October 2"], 1898, General Otis wrote to Agui- naldo: *T am constantly called upon, to correct miscon- ceptions entertained by my troops, and to punish offenses which they have wantonly committed." See page 21 of his official report of August 31, 1899. Unofficial but not less authentic accounts tell tales of looting and cruelty which we do not care to recount for future historians. Upon page 282 Gen. Thomas M. Anderson touched in his article of the ''North American Review" of February, 1900, very mildly upon this point, thus: "Our soldiers, to get what they considered trophies, did a good deal of what the Filipinos considered looting. A number made debts which they did not find it convenient to pay." Robert M. Collins, in his correspondence for the As- sociated Press, puts it plainly thus in his letter of July 30, 1899: "There has been, according to Otis himself and the personal knowledge of every one here, a perfect orgy of looting and wanton destruction of property and most outrageous blackmailing." The killing of fifty thousand Filipino patriots, more or less, fighting for freedom in their own native land, excluding women and children and innocent non-com- batants slain, is of course of no consequence to modern American pretended "patriots," but to show the spirit of their so-called "patriotism" we quote a letter printed in "The Chicago Record" of June 13, 1899, which we think needs no explanation: AMERICAN MISDEMEANORS. 121 ''Corporal Frank Bolens, Company F, Fourth United States Infantry, now in the PhiUppines, is a Chicago boy. In a recent letter to friends here he says: '^ *We have only had two battles since we came here — one at Mariqtiina and another at Balintuac. Old Agui- naldo's back is broken, but he won't give in, so now it's the ''black flag" — kill and no capture till the last one is out of existence. We used to take them prisoners, but not since they butchered some of our boys. " 'We caught a Chinaman stealing a water bufifalo and took him to the guardhouse on outpost half an hour ago. He thought we were going to kill him, and you should have seen him fight for his life. " 'We boys have not had much hardship since the 30th of April. At that time we marched about forty-six or forty-eight miles and fought two battles in nineteen hours, and that without stopping for a bite to eat. We don't go out often, but when we do we make short work of them and no bragging about it. We would rather fight than eat, and we think no more of killing a nigger than you people think of killing a fly. The climate is all right — if it don't rain; then it is as bad as Cuba.' " The following "special" speaks for itself plainly enough without comment: "Special Dispatch to the Chicago Daily News. "Washington, D. C, June 17. — It is learned that yes- terday's cabinet meeting, the last before the President's departure for New England, was given up almost en- tirely to a serious discussion of the situation in the Phil- ippines. Some surprises were developed. Several mem- bers of the cabinet were outspoken in expressing the opinion that 100,000 troops were needed in the Philip- pines. The fact has been guarded. "Another surprise was afiforded the cabinet by Secre- tary Long, who is getting more and more opposed to the slaughtering warfare against the natives. Always of a pacific disposition, the Secretary of the Navy has re- 122 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. cently been stirred by what he considers reckless slaugh- ter of natives by the navy's vessels. "Information has come to him through private letters from sailors that wherever natives have been assembled on the shore in firing distance the warships have opened fire regardless of any hostile provocation, often killing women and children and wrecking private property. Many acts of sailors have been reported to the Secretary which he hardly considers in keeping with the rules of civilized warfare. Pianos and other private property have been carried away by sailors to the warships and from communities reported to be pacified and under American military control. "These depredations have worried Secretary Long, and he has made the facts known to the President and his associates in the cabinet. For some time Secretary Long has been growing restless at the prolongation of the war, and his attitude is now a source of grave con- cern." In The Chicago Record of August 9, 1899, >Mr. Mc- Cutcheon, writing after the fight at Zapote Bridge of June 24, said: "Soldiers were wandering along the in- surgents' late position exulting in the scenes of carnage. * * * It is always impossible to tell how many men the insurgents lose in these engagements. They un- doubtedly carry many of their dead and wounded to the rear during the earlier part of the fights, and it is the supposition of the American commanders that the dead and wounded found on the field are those who have fallen in the last few minutes of fighting. * * * Dur- ing the bombardment, by the way in which explosive shells were fired all over the insurgent territory, it is im- possible to think that all these shells were harmless. They must have killed many natives, without regard to sex or occupation. * * * ^ day or two later, when I rode through Bacoor, the natives refused to return my salutation. * * * Possibly they did not care to con- AMERICAN MISDEMEANORS. I23 ceal their hatred of those who had riddled their sons and brothers, battered their homes and filled their grave- yards with dead. * * * On June 19 a battalion of the Fourth Infantry marching from Imus to Dasmarinas lost four killed and twenty wounded. * * * Two of the dead bodies had to be abandoned, but were found later naked and mutilated. * * * There has been a howl of rage over these mutilations, but we must remem- ber the case of one of our own soldiers who used to go out stalking insurgent outposts and cutting off an ear of every man he shot, to be preserved as a trophy." From the Chicago Record. Frank Freeman, a private in the Twentieth Kansas Regiment, under date of June 3, 1899, wrote to a friend in Chicago thus: "We went out to trap the 'niggers' May 24, and it began to rain on us when we were within 200 yards of their trenches, so we had a good chance to slip up on them. Well, if you ever saw any one surprised it was those 'coons.' The killing started right off and we ran them four miles, capturing, wounding and killing 400, with only five companies of the former Twentieth Kan- sas. * * * Out of 552 men of this regiment on the lines 200 are on the sick Hst and the remainder of the regiment is in Manila in the hospital, and then you know there are a lot of fellows who have never seen a fight. We class them with the 'cold feet' — those who are afraid to come on the lines. I am afraid to go, but I don't allow myself to think about it. I just go ahead, and when the order 'Charge' comes I go crazy. All the 'man' leaves me and 'brute' takes its place. It's the same with all of us. Pride alone takes a man through many a battle. I wouldn't take $10,000 for my experience, but I wouldn't go through it again for millions." The sweet simplicity and sublime candor of such a statement should stir the heart of an American merce- .124 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. nary even, and when we compare it with the sentiments set forth as inspiring our forefathers in their struggles for Hberty we feel like exclaiming, ''O, Lord God, how long!" We quote an excerpt in 'TubHc Opinion" of May 4, 1899, of an address by Senator Hoar to the Sons of the Revolution, at Boston: ''Captain Charles Miles, one of the Concord captains, told Dr. Ripley that he went to the bridge on the morn- ing of the 19th of April, 1775, with the same sense of responsibility to God with which he went to church. That has ever been the spirit of the American soldier, from Concord to Santiago. It is for this, and not for glory or for empire^ that the New England soldier has been ready to consecrate his life. "I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send? Then said I, Here am L Send me. "It is this which has given to our fathers of the revo- lution their peculiar glory, and which has given to the republic they founded its power, its supreme and un- equaled power, among the nations of the world. You would think from some recent utterances that some peo- ple were of the opinion that if the American soldier is to be respected in the world hereafter he must fight to im- pose his dominion upon unwilling peoples and subject races, and that in that way only the sons of the Pilgrims and the men of the revolution are to become a world power. The men of the nations who fight for freedom and justice, who fight for the great doctrine of the open- ing sentences of our Declaration of Independence, are the men and the nations that live in the grateful memory of mankind, and not the men or the nations who fight for dominion or empire." Listen to the following strictly official evidence which proves beyond peradventure that the Filipinos held thou- sands of their most hated foreign foes, both Spanish officials and friars, prisoners for many months, utterly at their mercy, and no massacre ever occurred among them, FILIPINOS HUMANE. 125 while on the contrary they made them as comfortable as they could under the circumstances. Admiral Dewey telegraphed the Navy Department thus: ''Spanish prisoners are not treated cruelly by the insurgents, but they are neglected, not from design, but owing to want of proper food supply, medical outfit and attendance." Gen. E. S. Otis wrote to Aguinaldo under date of Manila, November 2, 1898, as follows, see page 41 of Senate Document No. 208, 56th Congress: "1 beHeve the vast majority of the reports of great cruelty and barbarous treatment practiced by the Filipinos toward these individuals which have been put in general circula- tion, are untrue." Gen. C. A. Whittier, in his evidence before the Paris Peace Commissioners, stated: "Their conduct toward their Spanish prisoners has been deserving the praise of all the world. With hatred of priests and Spaniards, fairly held on account of conditions before narrated, and with every justification to a savage mind for the most brutal revenge, I have heard no instance, of torture^ mur- der, or brutality since we have been in the country." Page 500, Senate Document No. 62, Records 55th Con- gress. They held Iloilo, Cebu and other cities with foreign populations and business for many months, but neither massacres nor lootings occurred, possibly because they were not so thoroughly "civilized" as the European troops which took Tien Tsin, China. Consul Oscar F. Williams, of Manila, wrote a letter for the public press on January 18, 1899, which bore the strongest evidence upon this point. It said: "While we criticize the government of Aguinaldo, his has been the only restraining power in these populous islands since 126 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. May 1st except in the narrow limits of Manila and Cavite, and if the United States were to take over the Spanish East Indies to-day a ledger might show them to be worth a hundred millions of gold more than they would have been had not the dictatorial commands of Aguinaldo withheld the torch of the Filipinos, who were determined to burn all Spanish and Roman Catholic property. I had many conferences in May and June with Aguinaldo and his leaders, and I told them that the whole world was looking at them to judge their conduct, and that if incendiaries and looters had liberty, the whole Filipino race would be condemned as guilty. Aguinaldo pledged observance of my advice^ and I am bound to give him a full measure of credit." The edict for the uprising in Manila, dated January 9, 1899, written by Aguinaldo himself and now in posses- sion of the Americans, warned all Filipinos against loot- ings because he intended to prove to the world that they were a civilized people, and particular directions were given to protect all banks, including the Spanish, against any possible scheme of plunder. Aside from the official evidence of Admiral Dewey, Generals Otis, Whittier and others herein, the kind treat- ment and safe return of Spanish prisoners disproves stories of Filipino savagery. The following account, to be found in the first column of the 7th page of "The New Orient," dated Manila, January 27, 1900, is a fair sample of friar fakes. It is headed in big type, "Bloody Secrets," but not vouched for: "The following has come to the attention of the New Orient: It is believed to be authentic. The details con- nected with the plot and the reward which was organized with the view of killing the American officers is given A FRIAR FAKE. 127 without embellishment and for what they are worth. It is known that the insurgents attempted to kill General Lawton while he was on the north line, and the occasion chosen was when Major Howard was killed on the river boat. The rebels had learned that General Lawton was to take that boat and they made a desperate attempt to kill him^ but killed Major Howard instead. General Lawton, owing to some accident, did not take the boat, as he intended. 'Tf the Information given here Is correct, there will be some lively stirring in Manila, and many prominent peo- ple who have posed as America's friends will have the mask torn from their faces. When the news of General Lawton's death reached Manila there was great rejoicing in certain native circles. In the Binondo and Tondo dis- tricts particularly was this the case, and it was at once proposed to raise a purse to reward the man who slew him. 'The officers of the Katipunan society took charge of the affair, and among those particularly active in the matter was Seiior Poblete, editor of El Pueblo Del Grito; Arevalo, dentist, and Arellano, of the Supreme Court. Money came in freely. The keepers of tiendas and stalls, supported by their trade with American troops, had plenty of money, and they fell over each other in their haste to contribute to the good cause. Poblete was the treasurer, and within twenty-four hours he had in his hands more than $100,000 of voluntary contributions. "After hurried consultation It was decided that this was too large a sum to be given to the slayer of a single man, and the reward was fixed at $20,000. The man who did the deed was a second lieutenant of the Guardia Civile, named Garcia, and it was considered that the en- tire sum was too large to be given to a m.an in his posi- tion. After further discussion the reward was raised to $25,000, and the amount paid over, as it was proved to the satisfaction of the men who had charge of the business that he was the man to whom the death of General Law- ton was due and that he was therefore entitled to the reward. 128 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. 'The rest of the cash on hand was placed m a fund for the purpose of rewarding such patriots as might in future be fortunate enough to rid their country by the death of hated American officers. ''Further contributions were soHcited, and money is still pouring into the treasury. At present Seiior Poblete, who still acts as treasurer, has on hand more than $200,- 000 and the sum is steadily growing. A regular schedule has been adopted and any native who can compass the death of an American officer of the rank of colonel or higher will receive a reward proportioned to the rank of his victim. "This is the story as it comes from an authority appar- ently indisputable. It is well, however, to take all such accounts with mental reservations. Just now the matter of the retention of the friars is inducing a great deal of hard feeling, and undoubtedly some questionable methods will be used on both sides. Sefior Poblete, as editor of El Pueblo del Grito, has taken a prominent part in this movement, and by so doing has made some very bitter enemies. Possibly the whole story has been manu- factured by them for the purpose of getting him into trouble, or at least discrediting him at a critical period." In "The New Orient," under date of Manila, Febru- ary 3, 1900, we find the following item of interest in this connection, which shows why it may be possible that the "holy" friars have a hand in these various fraudulent reports: "The 'Grito del Pueblo' warns Mr. Chappelle, the American representative of the Catholic Church, that if he takes up his residence with the friars, the belief that he is in sympathy with them will be aroused in the breasts of the people in Manila, who are already suspi- cious." This is certainly a very polite way of putting it, and could scarcely be surpassed for politic expression. Pos- sibly the censorship system is responsible for its extreme politeness. KATIPUNAN REUNIONS. 129 CHAPTER XVIII. FREEMASONRY REVIVED. From "The New Orient," under date of Manila, Febru- ary 10, 1900, we quote the following of interest: "A move is on foot to organize a lodge of the Free- masons in Manila and a meeting at the office of The Manila Times,' 18 Escolta, is called for to-morrow at 3 p. m. There should be enough members in Manila to found a lodge which should be a success from the start." From this it would seem that the work of exterminat- ing Filipino Freemasonry, begun by the friars, had been about finished by the Americans, from all accounts, their plans having been thoroughly carried out^ the strange story of which we will try to tell. President McKinley and Premier Sagasta, both high Masons, might know some reason satisfactory to themselves for the extermina- tion of their fellow Filipino Freemasons, but to one outside of their organization it looks much like cold blooded murder or wholesale massacre. The following, however, shows that they are not all dead yet, nor are the Katipunans quite exterminated: "Manila, March 9, 1900. — Generals Young and Hood are asking for re-enforcements and a battalion of the 48th regiment has been sent to Aparri. Other troops will follow. The rebels recently persistently attacked Aparri for several hours, but were finally driven away. Details of the affair are lacking. "The rebels are holding reunions in the province of North Ilocos, and the red Katipunan cross, symbolic of resistance, is again appearing among the natives. It is believed that the insurgent Generals, Tinio and Flores, have been driven by General Young into General Hood's territory south of Aparri. "The fact that General Young is unable, owing to lack of troops, to mamtain garrisons in all the towns occupied has had a bad effect on the natives." I30 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. The "Chicago Record" of July 25, 1900, contained the following account: "Fired upon by savages, taken prisoner and held cap- tive for four months, during which time his life was re- peatedly threatened, exhibited to natives as a sample of the 'ferocious Americano,' led out to be executed and finally Hberated because he was a Mason, constituted the experience in the Philippines of a Chicago man, Frank M. Pray, who has just returned from Manila. Mr. Pray said: *We could look into the muzzles of the guns and could almost hear the bullets coming when an officer who had just arrived observed a Masonic emblem which I wore. It did not take him long to learn that I was en- titled to wear the emblem, and he, a brother Mason, in- terceded and caused our release. " 'Well, then maybe I didn't make tracks for Manila, but I guess I did. There our band of five broke up, and I started for home and reached here yesterday. If any- body ever says Philippines to me again I will feel like beating him to death.' " In a letter dated July 24, 1900, Mr. Pray stated that a member of their party who "was a Mason, claimed that the Presidente of the town of Maasin, where we were captured, gave him the grip. He had a Masonic symbol on, which was taken ofif as soon as he saw the pin which the Mason in our party wore. The General, he claimed, wore a charm. Only once did he see it on him, however, as he took it ofif, probably having seen the pin the mem- ber of our party wore, so he surmised. I afterward heard, that the General Ambrosia Mojica was a Mason." Mr. Pray denied the theory that the Masons were the movers of the insurrection in these words: "A Mason, we learned, did not dare to show his colors. As to the insurrection being a Masonic move, from what I saw, I should say that it was a church move, rather than a Masonic move. The priests seem to form an intelligence bureau for the benefit of the insurecto army on Lyte, NATIVE PRIESTS WITH PEOPLE. I3I where I spent most of my time. Priests have been caught in the act and shot on that island. Their money is used to carry on the war. "It is worth your Hfe to leave the lines to-day out there. Some say the war is over. I say that it is begun. Perhaps I am wrong. Soldiers (not officers) will tell you that what I say is true. Their one cry is, 'Get back to God's country, and get a good square meal.' "Yours truly, F. M. Pray." It seems as though this letter goes to substantiate the statement that many leaders, at least, of the insurrection, are Freemasons, as it appears from what Mr. Pray writes, that the Presidente and General where they were captured were Masons, and he heard that General Am- brosia Mojica was one also, which would look as though some leaders, there, were Masons at least. But this letter also seems to show the further fact that the native priests (not Spanish friars) are with the people head, heart and soul, in this insurrection, includ- ing their wealth, and that the Catholics of the Philip- pines believe as heartily in home rule as do the Catholics of Ireland and other countries, among them the Cath- olics of America, we believe. In fact, these Filipino Separatists seem to be as faith- ful to the church as they are hostile to the friars, while every known element of the population seems united with them in hostility to these Spanish oppressors. But to present the facts in the case as we learn them from official sources and not to offer our own unsup- ported opinions^ we quote again: President McKinley said in Pittsburg, on August 28, 1899, in his address of welcome to the troops return- ing from the Philippines: "A body of insurgents, in no sense representing the sentiment of the people of 132 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. the islands, disputed our lawful authority." But our commanding generals say quite the contrary. Major- General MacArthur, the present Governor-General of the Philippines, declared to the correspondent of the ''Cri- terion," Mr. H. Irving Hancock: ''When I first started in against these rebels I beUeved that Aguinaldo's troops represented only a faction. I did not like to believe that the whole population of Luzon — the native population, that is — was opposed to us and our offers of aid and good government. But after having come this far, after having occupied several towns and cities in succession, and having been brought much into contact with both insurectos and amigos, I have been reluctantly compelled to believe that the Filipino masses are loyal and devoted to Aguinaldo and the gov- ernment which he heads." Gen. E. S. Otis, the Governor-General preceding Gen- eral MacArthur, wrote upon page 14 of his official report of August 31, 1899: "The insurrection had spread to, and was active in, all the islands with the exception of the Sulu archipelago." Mr. John F. Bass, the war correspondent, wrote for "Harper's Weekly": 'The whole population of the is- lands sympathizes with the insurgents ; only those natives whose immediate self-interests require it, are friendly to us." Gen. Thomas M. Anderson, the first commander of our American military forces in the Philippines, wrote in his signed article, published in 'The Chicago Record," of February 24, 1900, in part as follows: "It must be remembered that two years before Aguin- aldo had been the leader in a rebellion the object of which was to set up an independent Filipino government. The Filipino people, in a vague way, had the same anticipa- tion, for it must be understood that while Aguinaldo is to us a very ordinary man of flesh and blood, he is to his INTRODUCTION OF FREEMASONRY. 133 countrymen an ideal. He is a long-expected Moses to lead them out of the house of bondage. He is an oriental Washington." President McKinley said in his Pittsburg speech re- ferred to: 'The misguided followers in rebellion have only our charity and pity. As to the cruel leaders, who have needlessly sacrificed the lives of thousands of their people, at the cost of some of our best blood, for the gratification of their own ambitious designs, I will leave to others the ungracious task of justification and eulogy." Mr. McKinley seems to look upon the Filipino patriots much as General Gage, of the British army, looked upon the American patriots when he wrote to Lord Dart- mouth a week after Bunker Hill: "The rebels do not see that they have exchanged lib- erty for tyranny. No people were ever governed more absolutely than the American provinces now are; and no reason can be given for their submission but that it is tyranny which they have erected themselves." Leaving our readers free to form their own opinions, we give them the following story of the start- of Free- masonry in the Philippines from the Manila "Freedom" of July 4, 1899: "It was in the year 1873 that Freemasonry first arose in the Philippines. At that time its members were ex- clusively comprised among the Peninsulres (Spaniards born in Spain). It was only later under the presidency of Rufino Torrejon, Jacobo Zobel and others, that Free- masonry began to spread in the Philippines, but it was not before 1886 that natives were enrolled. The Filipinos, bitterly incensed at the continuous abuses and excesses of the monks, who observed neither law nor principle, organized on the 28th of February, 1888, a great demon- stration against the 'Frailies' and a petition was drawn up begging the Queen Regent of Sp^in to order the 134 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. 'Expulsion de los Frailes.' General Ferreros, the Gov- ernor-General; CentenO', Civil Governor, and Quiroza, Administrator Civil, were all of them Freemasons, but of course the petition ended in a fiasco. Meantime troubles broke out in several parts of the province against the monks. For instance, in 1886, in San Fernando de la Union, in 'connection with which the relatives of Luna were deported, and in 1889, in Calamba, where the natives refused to pay further tribute to the monks. Up to 1888 barely twelve Filipinos were Free- masons, amongst them being Dr. Rizal, Tomas del Rosario, etc. *'In 1889 there appeared in Madrid, and afterwards in Barcelona, the first number of 'La SoHdaridad/ a jour- nal of progressive principles, and amongst other things demanded representation of the Filipinos in the Spanish Cortes. Instantly the priests were up in arms, and the result was that the circulation of the paper was forbidden in the Philippines. Under the administration of the just and well meaning Governor-General Despujol, Dr. Rizal ventured to return to the Philippines, and in 1892 he founded the Xiga Filipino,' the object of which was to secure reforms for the Filipinos. Soon after Rizal was arrested and deported to Dapitan. Despujols was, at the instance of the priests, recalled in the spring of 1893. The arrest of Rizal had greatly embittered the people. As the 'Liga Filipino' achieved nothing, Andres Boni- facio and other members transformed the society in 1893 into the Katipunan. Intending members had to sign the 'pacto de sangre;' i. e., they had to sign their names in their blood. "By 1896 the membership of the K. K. K. (meaning the Katipunan) had reached 30,000, and matters had sufficiently matured for a coup. Meanwhile the monks had followed the whole course of events with the closest attention. By means of the confessional, and more espe- cially through spies enrolled as members of the lodges, they were kept thoroughly en rapport about everything that went on. *'Their ^2'itidoal spy was AguedO ?del Rosarior. He FRIARS CRUSHING FREEMASONRY. 135 ultimately disappeared, and no trace has since been dis- covered of him. Fr. Mariano Gil, the priest of Tondo, where the K. K. K. had the largest membership, dis- tinguished himself above all the other priests in his zeal for their prerogative. The monks calmly watched the proceedings^ awaiting a favorable opportunity for a striking blow not only at the K. K. K., but at the entire Masonic system. They intended in fact to 'engordor al puerco antes de matarle' (to fatten the pig before killing it). Their aim was to so inflame public opinion that Freemasonry and the K. K. K. would come to be re- garded as one and the same thing, and in this way to brand Freemasonry as a danger to the state and thus crush it out forever. "But even as an avalanche is born from a snow-ball, events began to assume gigantic proportions, and this time the monks had fatally miscalculated. In June, at the instance of Mariano Gil, the first arrest was made in Manila. As these were growing more and more numer- ous, the K. K. K. withdrew outside of Manila until, on July 1st, the first fight took place near Caloocan. For the Spaniards it was an easy matter to disperse the na- tives, armed only with bolos and bamboo spears. A week later fighting ensued at Santa Mese and San Juan del Monte. Meanwhile arrests followed on arrests. The citadel of St. lago was before long so filled up with pris- oners that fifty-nine were suffocated in one night. Tor- tures were inflicted on the prisoners to make them con- fess. In Cavite, too, the Freemasons were captured, and many of them shot. In another case a vice-president of the Katipunan, in order to induce him to confess, was sandwiched in between two sets of boards and firmly bound. In this condition he was dipped bodily under the water of a deep well and held there some seconds, when he was brought to the surface. This was repeated three times without any confession criminating others being forced from his lips. After the third immersion the man was found suffocated. This took place in the town of Candaba. At that time Aguinaldo was sub- governor of Cavite Viejo, and when he learned that he, too, was to be arrested, he rose in rebellion, and with 136 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. him the whole village, followed by San Francisco de Malabon, Naic, Noveleta, Imus and Silang; and the priests and the officers of the Guardia Civil were, mas- sacred. Aguinaldo, the leader of the revolution, re- moved his headquarters from Cavite to Imus, and an at- tempt on the part of the Spanish General Aguirre, with two field guns, fifty cavalry men and 150 infantry to recapture Imus was brilliantly repulsed although the na- tives in Imus had only vine rifles. Andres Bonifacio, the founder of the K. K. K., was subsequently shot at Naic by order of Aguinaldo^ who did not approve of his bloodthirsty methods." CHAPTER XIX. AGUINALDO A NATURAL LEADER. Joseph L. Stickney wrote of Aguinaldo and his Ma- sonic affiliations for "The Chicago Record" of June 24, 1899, as follows: "It is reported that he upset his whole university career by joining the Masons. Soon after- ward he went to Hong Kong and knocked around for several years, practically a political refugee because of his Masonic affiliations." According to this account, Aguinaldo was then an exile, driven from his home and native land by the fierce persecutions of the friars, who followed a Mason with relentless fury, never satisfied till he was utterly despoiled or destroyed. This they did then, and this they are still doing, and are likely to do as long as they are allowed to. The life of Aguinaldo is an illustration, he having been born in 1871 in the most troublous times in Imus, prov- ince of Cavite. His father was said to be a well-to-do planter, raising rice and sugar, constantly harassed by the Order of Recollets, who claimed his crops. They ANECDOTES OF AGUINALDO. 137 instituted incessant lawsuits against him, keeping up a constant contest for his fields till his death. Aguinaldo, who had been banished from his native village by the friar influences^ had been sent from home to be educated, but upon his father's death he took up the struggle for the family against the friars' rapacity, and continued it fearlessly. According to some seemingly reliable accounts, when Dr. Jose Rizal returned to Manila, they became firm friends and being fellow Masons stood together. He would have been shot with Dr. Rizal had he not drawn his revolver and killed the officer who came to capture him. For the following, which is taken from the organ of our present Postmaster-General, who should be posted, we would not vouch. It is a little laughable at least to note with what readiness a newspaper writer will supply any trifling items such as names, etc., when needed: "Panicho Aguinaldo, the native dictator of the Philip- pines, is a very picturesque personage. He is the son of a prominent native chief. Anxious that his boy should be educated, this chief confided the lad to the Spanish priests, who thought that Aguinaldo's influence, when he grew up, would help to maintain Spanish authority among the Malay population. The father is rich, for a native, and Pancho Aguinaldo, after being taught in the local schools, was sent to Madrid to study theology and qualify for the priesthood. After a year or two of study the young man boldly declared he would not be a priest, but a soldier. So he was drafted into one of the native regiments, in which a few of Ijie subalterns are Manila men, but all the captains and field ofificers are Spaniards. "Nearly two years ago Aguinaldo and a compatriot named Alejandro, also a lieutenant of native troops, or- ganized a revolt in the native corps. Aguinaldo's regi- ment one morning, while on parade, shot all the Spanish officers except a few lieutenants, and took to the savan- 138 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. nas — great trackless prairies, swampy, with occasional high bits of land called 'mattes.' Here Aguinaldo made his headquarters. At one time he must have had 4,000 or 5,000 men under arms of some sort hidden in these fastnesses, raiding the rich settlements whenever they felt like it. The political Governor-General of the Philippines, Sefior Don Basilio Augustin y Davila, offered a reward of $20,000 for the head of Aguinaldo. Within a week he received a note from the insurgent cnief saying: *I need the sum you offer very much and will deliver the head myself.' "Ten days later the southeast typhoon was raging. The hurricane — for it was one — was tearing things to bits, and it was raining, as it can rain only in the orient, a sheet of black water flooding the earth. The two sen- tinels at the Governor-General's gate made the usual reverent sign as a priest passed in, who asked if his ex- cellency was within and unengaged. They answered yes to both questions. Don Basilio did not turn his head as some one entered. It was his secretary, he supposed, come to help prepare an eloquent statement upon the condition of the colonies. It was not the secretary, but a priest, who said: Teace be with you, my son.' 'The cleric locked the door, and, dropping his cloak, said: " 'Do you know me?' "Don Basilio did not know him. It was Aguinaldo, with a 20-inch bolo, a native knife, sharp as a razor, carried by every Malay in time of trouble. They can lop off an arm with one blow, as though it was a carrot. " 'I have brought the head of Aguinaldo,' the chief said, touching the edge of his jewel-hilted bolo, to ascer- tain its condition, 'and I claim the reward ! Hasten, else I shall have to expedite the matter myself.' "Don Basilio was trapped. He had to open his desk and count out the sum in Spanish gold. Aguinaldo punctiliously wrote a receipt, coolly counted the money, and walked backward to the door. He suddenly opened it and dashed out, just ahead of a pistol bullet that cut his locks on the temples. Captain-General Polavieja offered him and Alejandro a free pardon and $200,000 ANECDOTES OF AGUINALDO. 139 each to quit the colony. They accepted and got the money, only to learn that they were both to be assassin- ated the next night at a festa. The two men who had undertaken the job were found dead, stabbed to the heart, in their own beds. On the kris handle was a bit of paper with a line saying: 'Beware of the Malay's ven- geance.* "Polavieja resigned and returned to Spain, being suc- ceeded by General Augustin^ formerly Captain-General of Barcelona. "Aguinaldo is about 28 years old. He and his com- rade, Alejandro, hold the future of the Philippines in their hands. — Philadelphia Press." To show how stories grow' and change we quote the following as a variation of the foregoing: When Aguinaldo had heard the Archbishop had placed a bounty of a large sum of money upon his head, dead or alive, he took a copy of the document with him and went to the Archbishop's palace and showed him his bid for his head, exhibiting a threatening-looking revolver, quite incidentally, and said: **I have brought it to you, and want my money, and at once," whereupon the Arch- bishop handed it over. The death of Dr. Rizal and the arrest of leading Fili- pinos aroused the people, and Aguinaldo raised the standard of the revolution in earnest. The people ral- lied around him and as he was, as Admiral Dewey wrote to Consul Wildman, "a born soldier," the Spaniards were beaten. Armed with bows and arrows, bolos and bam- boo spears^ vine rifles and wooden swords, the Filipinos fought so bravely that they forced a peace. On December 14, 1897, the Treaty of Peace of Biak- na-bato was signed by General de Rivera and Aguin- aldo, promising all the reforms for which the Filipinos had fought, including the expulsion of the friars. For an accurate account of these occurrences we re- 140 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. fer to Aguinaldo's official record, under date of Tarlak, September 23, 1899, signed by him as President and bearing the official seal of the Philippine Republic, as fol- lows : "Spain ruled the Philippine islands for more than three centuries and a half, during which time the abuses caused by the rule of the friars and the adminis- tration exhausted the patience of the natives, forcing them to throw off the yoke of oppression; this they did between the 26th and 31st of August, 1896, the provinces of Manila and Cavite being the first to commence the revolution. *Tn these glorious days Balintawak, Santa Mesa, Ka- wit, Noveleta and San Francisco de Malabon arose and proclaimed the independence of the Philippines, being followed five days afterward by all the other towns of the province of Cavite, without there having existed any previous agreement toward carrying out this move- ment, evidently inspired by this noble example. ''Although in the province of Cavite written orders, signed by Don Augustin Rieta, Don Candido Tirona and myself, who were officers of the revolutionary troops, had been circulated to effect a general uprising of the people, it remained very doubtful whether the same had been obeyed or had even reached their destination. One of these orders fell into the hands of the Spaniard, Don Fernando Parga, the political and military governor of the province, who reported the matter at once to the Captain-General, Don Ramon Blanco y Erenas, who im- mediately ordered an attack on the revolutionists. ''Providence surely willed that this should be the hour for the emancipation of the Philippines, and aided and protected the revolutionists. For only thus could it be possible that men armed only with clubs and knives, with neither discipline nor organization, could vanquish the trained Spanish troops in the savage engagements at Bakoor, Imus and Noveleta, so that they even cap- tured a great many rifles, forcing General Blanco to sus- pend action and to endeavor to quench the revolution TREATY OF BIAK-NA-BATO. 141 by a more concilatory policy, under the pretext that he was averse to 'slaughtering the Filipinos.' *'The Spanish government, not approving of the line of policy followed out by General Blanco, sent Lieuten- ant-General Don Camilo Polavieja with a force of regu- lar Spanish troops of the peninsula to supersede the former. "With 16,000 men, armed with Mauser rifles, and one battery, Polavieja attacked the revolutionists in good earnest. Having, however, scarcely retaken half of the province of Cavite, he fell sick and resigned his position in April, 1897. ''Don Camilo Polavieja having been superseded by Captain-General Don Fernando Primo de Rivera, he prosecuted the war against the revolutionists with vigor, iDUt without needless cruelty, succeeding in retaking the whole province of Cavite and in driving the rebels to the mountains. "Then I pitched my camp in the wild and unknown range of Biak-na-bato, where, toward the end of May, 1897, I established the republican government of the PhiHppines. "Don Pedro Alejandro Paterno came several times to Biak-na-bato to make propositions of peace, which after five months of lengthy deliberations, was concluded and signed on the 14th of December of the said year, 1897, on the following basis: "Firstly. I was to be free to live abroad with the companions who were willing to follow me, and in Hong Kong, which I had decided on as a place of residence, the payment of $800,000 indemnification money was to be made in three installments, $400,000 on receipt of all the arms that were in Biak-na-bato, $200,000 when the number of arms delivered up should amount to 800, and the remaining $200,000 on the total number of the same reaching 1,000, when, as a thank offering, the Te Deum should be celebrated in the cathedral of Manila. The last two weeks of the month of February were fixed upon as the final term for the delivering up of the arms. "Secondly. The money was all to be delivered to me 142 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. personally, and I was to settle without interference with my companions and the other revolutionists. 'Thirdly. Before the Philippine revolutionists should evacuate Biak-na-bato Captain-General Don Primo de Rivera was to send me two Spanish generals who were to remain as hostages till I and my companions reached Hong Kong and the first installment of the indemnifica- tion, that is^ $400,000, had been received. "Fourthly. It was also agreed to suppress the relig- ious societies in the islands, and that poHtical and ad- ministrative autonomy should be established, although by request of General Primo de Rivera these latter condi- tions were not put down in writing, owing to his asser- tion that otherwise the treaty would be in too humiliating a form for the Spanish government, while on the other hand he guaranteed on his word as gentleman and officer the fulfillment of the same. "General Primo de Rivera paid the first installment of $400,000 while the two generals were still detained as hostages. "On our side we, the revolutionists, fulfilled the con- dition of delivering up the arms, the number of which exceeded 1,000, a fact that was known to everybody and published in the papers of Manila. "But the Captain-General failed to carry out the rest of the conditions, namely, the payment of the other in- stallments, the suppression of the friars, and the reforms agreed upon, although the Te Deum was sung." Aguinaldo then goes on to state that after he and his companions had thus complied with the terms of the treaty, leaving their native land for the sake of its prom- ised peace and reforms which were never realized, they were warned never to return. VINDICATED BY CONSUL WILDMAN. 143 CHAPTER XX. AGUINALDO NOT BRIBED. As so much has been said about Aguinaldo having betrayed his country for a bribe, and as so many misin- formed persons seem to beHeve this falsehood, we will refer to the United States official record for its refuta- tion and for a fair statement of the facts. Consul-General Wildman, of Hong Kong, wrote to Mr. Moore of the State Department on July i8, 1898, a letter which is to be found in Senate Document No. 62, pages 336, 337 and 338 (part 2). Beginning at the top of the page 337 it reads as follows, quoting word for word from the record: '* There has been a systematic attempt to blacken the name of Aguinaldo and his cabinet, on account of the questionable terms of their surrender to Spanish forces a year ago this month. It has been said that they sold their country for gold, but this has been conclusively disproved, not only by their own statements but by the speech of the late Governor-General Rivera in the Span- ish Senate June 11, 1898. He said that Aguinaldo un- dertook to submit if the Spanish government would give a certain sum to the widows and orphans of the insur- gents. He then admits that only a tenth part of this sum was ever given to Aguinaldo, and that the other prom- ises made he did not find it expedient to keep. "I was in Hong Kong September, 1897, when Aguin- aldo and his leaders arrived under contract with the Spanish government. They waited until the ist of No- vember for the payment of the promised money and the fulfillment of the promised reforms. Only $400,000, Mexican, was ever placed to their credit in the banks, and on the 3d of November, Mr. F. Agoncillo, late Minister of Foreign Affairs in Aguinaldo's cabinet, called upon me and made a proposal which I transmitted to the State Department in my dispatch No. 19, dated November 3, 1897. In reply the State Department in- 144 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. structed me to courteously decline to communicate with the department further regarding the alleged mission." This letter was a portion of the evidence presented to the Peace Commission at Paris. On pages 404 to 440, inclusive, of the same Senate Document No. 62, Part 2, can be found "Memoranda concerning the situation in the Philippines on August 30, 1898, by F, V. Greene, Major-General of Volunteers, and accompanying papers/' of vital importance. Gen- eral Greene being one of our officers in command at the battle of Manila, was one of those best posted in matters there, and his memoranda were among the most important presented to the Paris Peace Commission. On pages 421 and 422, Senate Document No. 62, Part 2, under the head of ''Insurgent Civil Administration," are these statements quoted verbatim from the records of the Paris Peace Commission as reported to the Senate. 'Tn August, 1896, an insurrection broke out in Cavite under the leadership of Emilio Aguinaldo, and soon spread to other provinces on both sides of Manila. It continued with varying successes on both sides,, and the trial and execution of numerous insurgents, until December, 1897, when the Governor-General, Primo de Rivera, entered into written agreement with Aguinaldo, the substance of the document, which is in possession of Sefior Felipe Agoncillo, who accompanies me to Wash- ington, being attached hereto and marked A. In brief, it required that Aguinaldo and the other insurgent lead- ers should leave the country, the government agreeing to pay them $800,000 in silver and promising to intro- duce numerous reforms, including representation in the Spanish Cortes, freedom of the press, general amnesty for all insurgents, and the expulsion or secularization of the monastic orders. "Aguinaldo and his associates went to Hong Kong and Singapore. A portion of the money, $400,000, was deposited in banks at Hong Kong, and a lawsuit soon VINDICATED BY GENERAL GREENE. 145 arose between Aguinaldo and one of his subordinate chiefs named Artacho which is interesting on account of the very honorable position taken by Aguinaldo. Artacho sued for a division of the money among the insurgents, according to rank. Aguinaldo claimed that the money was a trust fund, and was to remain on de- posit until it was seen whether the Spaniards would carry out their promised reforms, and if they failed to do so, it was to be used to defray the expenses of a new insurrection. The suit w^as settled out of court by pay- ing Artacho $5,ooo. "No steps have been taken to introduce the reforms, more than 2,000 insurgents, who have been deported to Fernando Po and other places, are still in confinement, and Aguinaldo is now using the money to carry on the operations of the present insurrection. "On the 24th day of April Aguinaldo met the United States Consul and others at Singapore and offered to begin a new insurrection in conjunction with the opera- tions of the United States Navy at Manila. This was telegraphed to Admiral Dewey, and by his consent, or at his request, Aguinaldo left Singapore for Hong Kong on April 26th, and when the McCulloch went to Hong Kong early in May to carry the news of Admiral Dewey's victory, it took Aguinaldo and seventeen other revolu- tionary chiefs on board and brought them to Manila Bay. They soon after landed at Cavite, and the Admiral allowed them to take such guns, ammunition, and stores as he did not require for himself. With these, and some other arms which he had brought from Hong Kong, Aguinaldo armed his followers, who rapidly assembled at Cavite, and in a few weeks he began moving against the Spaniards. Part of them surrendered, giving him more arms, and the others retreated to Manila." As an absolute and incontrovertible proof of the truth of this last statement, a letter from our ex-Consul at Manila, Plon. Oscar F. Williams, upon pages 328 and 329 of Senate Document No. 62, Part 2, reads as fol- lows: 146 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. "U. S. S. Baltimore, "Consulate of the United States, Manila Bay, Off Cavite, "Manila, Philippine Islands, May 24, 1898. "To Mr. Day. "Sir — I have the honor to report successful efforts on the part of the insurgents of these islands in prepara- tion for more successful war against Spain. Officers have visited me during the darkness of night to inform the fleet and me of their operation and to report increase of strength. At a conference with General Aguinaldo, the head of the movement, I was told that they had now about 4,500 Mauser rifles taken from the Spaniards, and had also abundant ammunition. Until the present they have been fatally crippled in these respects. Last week Major Gonzales captured two buffalo cart loads of rifle ammunition from the Spaniards. To-day I executed a power of attorney whereby General Aguinaldo releases to his attorneys in fact $400,000 now in bank in Hong Kong, so that money therefrom can pay for 3,000 stands of arms bought there and expected here to-morrow. The same sources informed me that about 37,000 in- surgents stand ready to aid United States forces, and General Aguinaldo's headquarters were this a. m. at 7 o'clock surrounded by 500 to 1,000 men eager to enlist. I was there at that hour and saw the men. My relations with all are cordial, and I manage to keep them so pro bono publico. When General Merrit arrives he will find large auxiliary land forces adapted to his service and used to this climate. I am, sir, "Oscar F. WilHams, "United States Consul." According to the official evidence of Consul-General Wildman of Hong Kong, and Major-General F. V. Greene of the United States Volunteers, as found in the official records of the United States, referred to, only $400,000 in Mexican silver were ever paid over to Aguin- aldo by the Spaniards, concerning which Aguinaldo wrote in his Official Review of the Philippine Revolu- VINDICATED BY CONSUL WILLIAMS. 147 tion, after giving his reasons for refusing to divide it unfairly among a few leaders like Artacho, saying: "Besides which, it had been agreed upon among the revolutionists at Biak-na-bato that in case the Spaniards did not comply with the stipulations, the money pro- ceeding from the indemnification should not be divided up, but should be set aside to purchase arms for renew- ing the war." Which is just what was done with this money, as can be seen by a reference to page 328 of Senate Document No. 62, as Consul Williams reported in his letter of May 24, 1898: "To-day I executed a power of attorney whereby Gen- eral Aguinaldo releases to his attorneys in fact $400,- 000 now in bank in Hong Kong so that money there- from can pay for 3,000 stands of arms bought there, and expected here to-morrow." As a matter of fact, too well and too widely known to be denied even by Admiral Dewey, arms and ammuni- tion were purchased with that money, conveyed to Ca- vite and turned over to the Filipinos, Consul-General Wildman and Admiral Dewey, aiding their shipment and delivery. As soon as they were placed in the hands of the Filipinos Aguinaldo's ragged, barefoot, barely organ- ized army began to astonish the world by brave battles agamst the greatest odds, winning overwhelming victo- ries everywhere they went, over well-armed European regulars. Then it was that Admiral Dewey wrote to Consul- General Wildman: "Aguinaldo is behaving splendidly. He is a born soldier," and Aguinaldo, in gratitude, wrote to Consul Wildman: "Are you pleased with me? Have 1 kept my word? Of the 7,000 Spanish regulars in Manila I have killed 2,000. Governor Para of Cavite and 148 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. the Governor of Battan are my prisoners. The provinces of Cavite, Lalaguna and Battan are mine. The arms you sent me were put to good use." Thus evidence educed from our own official records, and fully corroborated by the facts in the case, which have become historic, nails the lie that Aguinaldo be- trayed his country to the Spaniards for a bribe, by prov- ing that he bought arms and ammunition to fight in co- operation with the forces of the United States for the freedom of his country, as he supposed, against the Spaniards, "our common enemy," with the very money which he has been cruelly accused of taking as a bribe from them for betraying his country to them. Lies, like boomerangs, are apt to beat a back track! To corroborate the United States official records al- ready quoted from we will refer to the official records of the Spanish government as regards Aguinaldo's actions at the time of the so-called bribery. In an ad- dress before the Cortes the Marques de Estella declared, on August 12, 1899: "I have in my possession documents which will show great frauds perpetrated by our government. The first is a cable dispatch from the Governor-General of the Philippines to the President of the Council of Ministers, and is dated at Manila, October 7, 1897. It reads as follows : " Tending resolutions of the government on my tele- gram of the 5th instant, duty to my country and my position oblige me to manifest that I have two ways open to make peace in the archipelago. First, I can buy for $1,700,000 the chiefs and their rebellious followers, mak- ing them return their arms and our deserters to the dis- ciplinary corps, for propositions made to Paterno and others, and to be taken as salvatory by the high func- tionaries whom I consulted, and accepted by me, after sacrificing my prestige and military affection. VINDICATED BY SPANISH RECORDS. 149 " The payments to be made in installments — first payment upon the surrender of Aguinaldo, with the major part of his followers;. second payment four months after the surrender of Aguinaldo and all his followers; third payment when peace is assured. '* "This money will be used by Aguinaldo and his fol- lowers to indemnify ruined families, destitute widows, and to emigrate, and buy the soldiers. This plan can be realized through the Archbishop, the director of the bank. General Castilla, by the General Secretary, or by persons who may be designated by your Excellency. This plan has been approved by authorities in this coun- try of great reputation, whom I have consulted, who are known by their spirit and distinguished by their pa- triotic enthusiasm, and also by the eminent and virtuous Archbishop of Manila. ** The second way is to fight, and to try and vanquish the enemy by the force of arms.' "On the 15th of October the President of the Council of Ministers authorized the Gavernor-General of Manila to make the deal, leaving him carte blanche in the mat- ter. Now, then, comes in the fraud. The Marques Primo de Rivera was authorized to buy peace with the Filipinos for the sum of $1,700,000, under conditions made to the insurgents. But only $600,000 was ex- pended in this way, showing a deficiency of $1,100,000, which has been economized to the government by the Governor-General by his prudent management. Now, where is that money? *To Aguinaldo at Hong Kong was turned over the draft of $400,000 in the first days of January, 1898, and upon his return to the Philippines the insurgents, with a nucleus of the insurrection, surrendered, and $200,- 000 was paid to Mr. Paterno, which makes a total of $600,000 "Now, here comes in the perfidy of the transaction. Aguinaldo proved recreant to the trust reposed in him; he did not fulfill the conditions of the deed, but bought, with the money received from Spain, arms and ammuni- tion to further prosecute the war against this country. Now, if all this be true, why does there not appear of I50 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. record this sum of $1,100,000 which has not been ex- pended, either in the archives of the War department, of the Treasury department, or of the Department of the Colonies? Where has this money gone?" In regard to the balance of the indemnity money which was never paid to the Filipinos as promised in their official records already referred to and quoted from, Aguinaldo stated, in his "Authentic Review of the Philippine Revolution," that in reply to Admiral Dewey's questions as to a commission coming to him with terms and offering the Filipinos autonomy from Spain if they would espouse the cause of the Spaniards as against the Americans, he answered "that such a com- mission had come and stated to him that on condition that the autonomy was accepted. General Augustin and Archbishop Nozaleda would concede to me my rank as General, and to my othor companions the positions which they then held, giving me one million dollars, the rest of the indemnification money due from the treaty of Biak- na-bato, besides large recompense and salaries for the members of the House of Representatives, promises which even the commissioners themselves did not be- lieve in, although some were of the opinion that I should accept the money in order to get that sum from the treasury of the Spanish government, as it had been taken kom the pockets of the Filipinos." The Marques de Estella, in his address to the Span- ish Cortes, after he had read the dispatch from Governor- General Primo de Rivera, continued as follows: "Two days later, on the 9th of October (1897), the Secretary of the Council answered, saying that the Coun- cil of Ministers were considering the project and would reply as soon as possible. Four days later, after the Liberal party had come into power, the President of the Council sent another message to Manila, asking to MR. McKINLEY MISSTATES. 151 specify the authorities who had approved of this plan, how much money was needed to consummate the scheme, and that a detailed account of the desired in- stallments should be given. On the same date the Gov- ernor-General answered the Council of Ministers, stat- ing the conditions to be as follows : " 'Seven hundred thousand dollars to be paid upon the surrender of Aguinaldo, the greater part of his fol- lowers, and the deserters in arms; a second installment of $500,000 four months later, when the remainder of his followers had given up their arms and surrendered; and, lastly, two months later, the other $500,000 when peace should be assured/" Thus the records of the Spanish Cortes corroborate Aguinaldo's accounts of these occurrences, any dis- crepancies in cash accounts representing an official "rake-off." Notwithstanding this three-fold evidence of American, Spanish and Filipino official records, two months later Mr. McKinley is reported to have made the following statement in his speech at Fargo, North Dakota^ Octo- ber 13, 1899: "The leader of the insurgent forces says to the Ameri- can government, 'You can have peace, if you will give us independence.' Peace for independence, he says. He had another price for peace once before, but the United States pays no gold for peace. We never gave a bribe for peace in all our history." The following "special," much to the point, was pub- lished in the "Chicago Tribune" September 15, 1899: "Ithaca, N. Y., Sept. 14. — It is stated on au- thority that the Schurman Peace Commission offered every possible inducement short of absolute self-gov- ernment to Aguinaldo and his followers. Aguinaldo was promised, as the price for the restoration of peace in the Tagalo tribe, a bonus of more than $5,000 a year while the Tagalos remained peaceful. He was told 152 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. that he could choose men from his tribe for the minor municipal offices. "The commission, it is asserted, went so far as to promise Aguinaldo the moral support of the United States government, if such were needed, to make his leadership of the Tagalos thoroughly secure. ''With all these inducements, tempting as they must have been, Aguinaldo, as the recognized head of the insurgent movement, declined to yield. He insisted upon immediate self-government, and, as his insistence was so firm as to make an agreement impossible, the American Commissioners ceased negotiations." CHAPTER XXI. THE SULU SULTANATE. Upon pages 153 and 154 of General Otis' official report of August 31, 1899, is a letter addressed by him to Gen. J. C. Bates. After stating that General Bates was "constituted an agent" of the United States to negotiate with the Sultan of Sulu, according to certain memoranda furnished him, which evidently were patterned after Spanish policy in the past, including a recognition of Mohammedanism, slavery and polygamy, he added: "The Moros acknowledged through their accepted chiefs Spanish sovereignty and their subjection thereto, and that nation in turn conferred upon their chiefs cer- tain powers of supervision over them and their affairs. The kingly prerogatives of Spain, thus abridged by sol- emn concession, have descended to- the United States and conditions existing at the time of transfer remain." These "conditions," it seems, were agreed upon in 1878, and that "agreement" was accordingly taken as a basis for General Bates' remarkable treaty as follows: "You will therefore acquaint yourself thoroughly with SLAVERY IN THE SULUS. 153 the terms of the agreement of 1878 and take them as a basis for your directed negotiations." * * * 'The United States will accept the obHgations of Spain under the agreement of 1878 in the matter of money annuities and in proof of sincerity you will offer as a present (?) to the Sultan and datos $10,000, Mexi- can, with which you will be supplied before leaving for Jolo — the same to be handed over to them respectively in amounts agreeing with the ratio of payments made to them by the Spanish government for their de- clared services. From the first of September next and thereafter, the United States will pay to them regu- larly the sums promised by Spain in its agreement of 1878, and in any subsequent promises of which proof can be furnished * * * and will declare all trade of the Sultan and his people with any portion of the Philippine islands, conducted under the American flag, free, unlimited and undutiable." Yet Mr. McKinley declared: "We never gave a bribe," etc.! The treaty between the United States of America and the Sultan of Sulu already referred to for the preserva- tion of peace and protection of slavery, polygamy and Mohammedanism, under the barbarous rule of his royal highness and shelter of the stars and stripes, provides: "Article i — The sovereignty of the United States over the whole archipelago of Sulu and its dependencies is declared acknowledged. "Article 2 — The United States flag will be used in the archipelago of Sulu and its dependencies on land and sea. "Article 3 — The rights and dignities of his highness, the Sultan, and his datos, shall be fully respected; the Moros shall not be interfered with on account of their religion; all their religious customs shall be respected, and no one shall be persecuted on account of his religion. "Article 10 — Any slave in the archipelago of Sulu shall have the right to purchase freedom by paying to the master the usual market value." 154 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. Notwithstanding that the 13th amendment to tlie Con- stitution of the United States declares that "Neither slav- ery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly con- victed, shall exist within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction." "Article 15 — The United States government will pay the following monthly salaries (?): To the Sultan $250 To Dato Rajah Muda 75 To Dato Attik 60 To Dato Caibi 75 To Dato Joakanain 75 To Dato Puyo 60 To Dato Amir Hussin 60 To Hadji Butu 50 To Habib Mura 40 To Serif Saguin 15 Total monthly salaries (?) $760 Slavery in the Sulus under "the sovereignty of the United States" is certainly contrary to the clause in our Constitution prohibiting it in "any place subject to their jurisdiction," and its continuation under our flag of free- dom is as infamous as was the opposition of our gov- ernment to the war for freedom in Cuba and as is its prosecution of the present war against freedom in the Philippines. It is contrary to the Constitution, conscience and con- stituency of America and must give way before the mandates of our people if we are to be worthy of the name of a Christian nation. This treaty, recognizing, permitting and perpetuating despotism, polygamy and slavery in the Sulus, was signed at Jolo, P. I., on the 20th of August, 1899. Within less than one week thereafter Mr. McKinley McCUTCHEON ON MOROS. 155 made the following beautiful remarks at Ocean Grove, N. J., on July 25^, 1899: "I believe that there is more love for our country, and that more people love our flag than ever before. Where- ever that flag is raised it stands, not for despotism and oppression, but for liberty, opportunity and humanity, and what that flag has done for us we want it to do for all people, and all lands which by the fortunes of war have come within our jurisdiction. That flag does not mean one thing in the United States and another in Porto Rico and the Philippines." This is one of Mr. McKinley's beautiful fabrications which remind us of the individual who drew upon his imagination for facts and depended upon his memory for flights of fancy, with this exception, that he frequently falls back upon his fancy for both facts and fiction if his speeches are correctly reported, as we believe. they are. We prefer to depend upon the facts in the case for the truth, so will call upon eye witnesses, first among them again being Mr. John T. McCutcheon, whose evi- dence can be found in the "Chicago Record" of Novem- ber I, 1899, as follows: "By nature the Moro is a pirate, and as far back as history goes the native of the Sulus was a recognized pirate and the Sulu sea a terror to mariners. The Moros preyed on all the world outside their own people, and the pursuit was considered among them to be proper and legitimate. Consequently one can hardly expect to find a very thorough code of laws among them. An arrange- ment existed between Spain and the Sultan whereby the former should pay an annuity of $2,400 (Mexican) to the Sultan, and annuities ranging from $15 to $100 (Mexi- can) to the dattos and advisers. The British North Borneo Company paid the Sultan $5,000 a year. These amounts were paid as bribes or tributes to preserve peace and quiet, and were, in my judgment, thoroughly com- mendable, although if the arrangement is continued by 156 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. the United States the expenditure will probably be put in the budget 'for services rendered' to escape the accu- sation of bribery. It was a good arrangement, for a bag- ful of dobe dollars carries infinitely more weight with the thrifty savage than a thousand assurances of 'be- nevolent assimilation.' It will save scores of lives and hundreds of thousands of dollars, make the native con- tented and happy and insure a lasting peace. 'The religion of the people of the archipelago is Mo- hammedan, pagan and Christian. Nearly all the Moros are devout Mohammedans, and this faith may safely be said to include 75 per cent of the population of the is- lands. In the mountainous districts of some of the islands, however, there are wild, long-haired savages who worship pagan gods. The percentage of these is com- paratively small. The Christian element is composed of Visayan and Tagalo deportados, who have been sent as convicts to these islands. "The Moros guard their religion more jealously than any other institution. They would resent any interfer- ence in the faith more quickly than anything else, and one thing above all others which will insure peace between our country and the Moros will be the restriction of American missionaries. 'The Mohammedan religion allows a man four wives. The marriages are performed by priests, and a man can- not marry a woman if she strongly objects. I was un- able to learn just how much the woman could object and still be married, but I presume there is a certain fixed degree of protest which the suitor must regard as a re- jection of his proposal. When a man has more than one wife he lives a week with each one, and by this rigid observance of impartiality he manages to maintain peace in the family. "A man can easily divorce his wife by merely return- ing her to her parents or guardian and stating that he will be no longer responsible for her. She is then di- vorced, and cannot marry again for three months and four days. If she becomes a widow the punishment is greater, for she is then obliged to wait four months and four days before again marrying. The man, in the first SLAVERY IN THE SULUS. 157 instance of course, can immediately remarry if he desires. Datto Jokanine has four wives, the limit, as well as a number of slaves. "Slavery exists on the islands, and is apt to be the most difficult problem we will have to solve, for the Moros will rebel against the abolition of such an ancient insti- tution, while the United States will doubtless find slavery inconsistent in one of her colonies. "There are about 2,000 slaves on the island of Sulu. I was unable to find the approximate number on the other islands, but probably there are as many more. A slave is worth about $40 Mexican, although the price depends largely upon the age and sex of the slave. "Slaves are acquired in two or three ways — by direct purchase, by inheritance and as payment of debt. Most slaves are hereditary. The owner wills them to his son, and all children borne by women in bondage become the property of the owner of the slave mother. "It is a custom of countries in the East to pay to a slave-owner the price of a slave if the latter runs away and asks to be free. The slave is then worked by the government until he works out the amount paid for him. The slave then becomes free and the 'previous owner cannot reclaim him. "According to this custom the slave does work up to the amount of $40 and wins his freedom. If this amount is not paid at the end of the first year the government can hold him until the end of the third year, when he is given his freedom. "Practically the same system exists here in the East as in Mexico, for the arrangement is very similar to the peon system. If a peon fails to work off his debt while h'e lives, his children become peons until the debt is paid. "Crimes among the Moros are punishable according to fixed penalties in most cases, but occasionally the datto, if he happens to be in an unpleasant humor, varies the punishment a bit. Murder is punishable by a fine of $105 Mexican. No Moro is allowed by his religion to lay his hand on a strange woman. If he does so in the daytime he is fined $8, and if at night $10. Horse stealing and cattle stealing are punished severely. Other 158 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. forms of stealing are punished according to the previous record of the criminal. If his record is bad he comes under the classification of 'habitual criminal/ and the probability is that his wife will have a chance to marry again in four months and four days. '*A case happened a week before I arrived in Jolo which illustrated how a habitual robber fared. The Datto Jo- kanine is a man of some wealth, which he keeps buried beneath his house. Frequently he has occasion to send to various parts of his domain for money as tribute, and at these times he has always sent one of his trusted fol- lowers. "One day some time ago this man was sent to bring the datto a certain sum of money, but when the bag was handed to the datto the trusted follower flung himself on his knees and confessed that he had lost part of it in gambling. He kissed the datto's hands and implored forgiveness and promised never to do so again, and said that he was overwhelmed with grief and humiliation, etc. "The datto forgave him, but told him never to Jet it happen again, for if it did the punishment would be'swift and terrible. "Well, it happened again on the very next trip on which the trusted follower was sent for money. Once more there were lamentations and appeals and vows of eternal reformation. " Didn't I tell you that I would punish you severely the next time this happened?' said the datto. 'Didn't I warn you that you would be killed? What do you mean?' etc., etc., thundered the datto, as he glared at the penitent bootlick at his feet. " *0 most gracious prince, sun of suns, king of the uni- verse,' etc., etc., wailed the hapless subject as he squirmed and cringed beneath the datto's lowering gaze. It was a long session that time, with the scales waver- ing throughout it all, but in the end the datto said that he'd give him another chance. "And now comes the part of the story which illustrates how great are the fascinations of gambling. When the trusted follower went again for money for his master he looked in on a little game, and, forgetful of his dire LITTLE ON MOROS. 159 experiences in the past, he plunged sufficiently long to lighten his load of 'dobe dollars. 'Instead of running away, he went back to the datto and confessed to his shortage. "This time there was no argument on either side. The datto turned to one of his guards and ordered him to slay the trusted follower. He then asked if the victim wished to be blindfolded or had any short remarks to make. As the latter saw no necessity for the one and no use in the other, he said something to the efifect of 'never mind the guard.' ..An instant later a^barong sunk into his stomach, almost dissecting him, and the punish- ment was over." Mr. R. H. Little wrote for the Chicago Tribune of September 8, 1899, as follows concerning the Sulus: "In Sulu of Jolo, as it is commonly called, where Gen- eral Bates has gone, the Spaniards were never able to collect taxes or do more than maintain at great cost one or two military posts. Consequently the govern- ment of the Moros will be one of the most perplexing questions that Congress will have to deal with in the adjusting of the affairs of the various islands of the Phil- ippines. "The Moros are Mohammedans and have all their pe- culiar customs, including harems, juramentados, slaves, and other doubtful luxuries not considered, nor indorsed by the constitution of the United States. The Moros have as many wives as they choose. Slavery exists in its widest scope. There are slaves by birth and by con- quest, such as are seized in battle or on piratical excur- sions, or insolvent debtors. "The peculiar religious notions which are liable at any moment to transfer an amiable Moro into a juramentado is also something that will tend to make these people bothersome wards. A juramentado is a man who has taken a solemn oath to die killing Christians. The Mo- hammedan Moros believe that one who does this goes straight to the seventh heaven and into the presence of the great prophet himself. l6o THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. "To gain this great reward Moros frequently shave their eyebrows, bathe in a sacred spring, and, putting on robes of white, underneath which are concealed heavy knives, seek the nearest town where there are Christians and run amuck. The only way to stop them is by killing them, for as long as they can raise their hands they will strike and stab, as they believe that every Christian that they kill insures them just so much more glory in heaven. "Many instances are told by the Spaniards of juramen- tados who had been impaled upon a bayonet, seizing the gun barrel to which the bayonet was fastened, and by pulling it forward drive the knife deeper into their bodies to bring them within striking range of the enemy. "American army officers are afraid that a Krag-Jor- gensen bullet, which, unless it strikes a vital spot, will not always incapacitate a man from fighting, would prove of little avail in stopping a headlong rush of crazed jura- mentados. They advocate arming the troops in Sulu with Springfield rifles or furnishing them with the dum- dum bullet as absolutely necessary in a warfare against fanatics. "As for slavery, the institution is so deep-rooted in Sulu that the constitution of the United States would hardly properly cover the islands. It is highly probable that owing to the conditions in Sulu the United States may not, for some time at least, claim more than the right of a protectorate or suzerainty over the islands in- habited by the Moros and that no attempt will be made to interfere with their customs." Under date of Manila, April 23, 1900, Mr. McCutcheon wrote a letter appearing in The Chicago Record of Au- gust 17, in which he said: **From my personal experiences with the Filipinos — experiences covering the greater part of two years and the larger part of the Philippines and the Sulus — I have reached several deductions which at present I think are tolerably well founded. Perhaps if I had time I would change or remodel them. FILIPINO ENLIGHTENMENT. l6l "The first is that I hke the FiUpinos. From the very first I have met with hospitahty and kindness from them in every part of the islands. On nearly all of these occa- sions the people have had no other reason to be courteous and friendly except the impulse of inherent hospitahty. About the only Filipinos I have had cause to disapprove of were the cab drivers in Manila, together with various house boys who at one time or another transferred my watch, money and other valuables from my home in Manila to some unknown place either in Manila or out of Manila. These I dislike. "But in most of my experiences with Filipinos in Ma- nila and nearly all the provinces I have met a uniform degree of courtesy, which, whether assumed or natural, has prepossessed me in their favor. There has never been a house, however small, or a family, however poor, which has not hospitably placed itself at my service when conditions rendered such service most opportune and grateful. "Another conclusion Fve reached is that a higher state of education exists in the Philippines, excepting, of course, the Igorrotes, Negritos and Moros, than one can find in any other oriental country. From Albay province to Aparri you will find the greater part of the people uni- formly able to read and write; you will find substantial stone buildings and imposing churches and schools in the most remote sections. A trip up the Ilocos coast is a revelation to the traveler, for he will find the valleys high- ly cultivated, the cities large and imposing and the people normally peaceful and fairly industrious. "The same conditions will be found existing in all sec- tions of Luzon. You will find pianos where you have been led to expect breechcloths and savagery. You will find well-dressed people reading the native newspapers, and men who will discuss with you intelligently the prob- lems of the islands. Only in the remote mountain dis- tricts will you find the half-naked savage who is used in the American comic weeklies to represent the typical Filipino. For this state of comparative enlightenment the church is responsible, for whatever we may say of the methods of the friars we must acknowledge that they l62 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. have done a great work in educating the people — leaving the price out of the question. ''Another conclusion I've reached is that with proper training the Filipino may be developed into a good man in any branch of business. He is receptive and imitative. I have seen most excellent maps and draughtings made by Filipinos. In the big banks and business houses high positions are held by them, and on the railway and steam- ship lines there are dozens of splendid native engineers and mechanics. In music, art, sculpture, medicine, law and literature; in technical vocations, such as architec- ture, wood carving, weaving, masonry, electricity and mechanical engineering; in sports, such as horse racing, cock fighting, boat racing, fencing, bicycling and various native sports, and in all sorts of clerical work there are many examples showing what may be made of the raw material if properly taught. The fact that, to these civilized, Christianized, enlight- ened Filipinos, longing for liberty under their own chosen leaders, the right of self-government under republican institutions, has been ruthlessly denied, while to savage, slaveholding,polygamous Mohammedan tribes it has been granted, with full guarantee against any interference with most abhorrent and barbarous practices, contrary to the conscience and constitution of our country, is proof posi- tive that it is not for lack of fitness for, or justice in grant- ing to them self-government, that this right is denied to them by the political leaders temporarily in power, but because by conquering and controlling the civilized ele- ments they expect to increase, together with trade, their political power, and plunder, while it might cost more than it would come to in cash, comfort, or official advan- tages to crush out human slavery, human sacrifices and certain other ''religious customs" or "rights/* which are held as sacred by American mercenaries whose only God SCHURMAN SCORES JUDGES. 163 is gold, whose creed is greed, and whose policy is hy- pocrisy incited by plunder. Speaking of this class of men in his address before the Union League Club of Chicago, delivered on Washing- ton's birthday, February 22, 1900, at the Auditorium in that city. President Schurman of the first Philippine Peace Commission said of them: "I must say a word about the jingoes. Now the jin- goes are a sect who hold that everything is ours that we can lay our hands on; and that other people have no rights which we need respect. Their philosophy of the Philippine question is exceedingly simple. It is this: Greed in their hearts, gold in the Philippines, and God in heaven to satisfy the appetite with its desired object. The inhabitants of the archipelago, of whom there are some 8,000,000, never enter into their calculations, or if they do it is simply as material for exploitation or food for bullets. Eight million Filipinos with no legal or moral rights that we need to consider! Eight million immortal souls to be treated as mere chattels! Yet this is the gos- pel of the jingoes. * * * The American people will in due time punish them for their infamy." Since this is infamy, as he says, and as it assuredly is, why allow it any longer? Why not stop it at once? When will the time be due to stop it, if not now? It is always time to right a wrong. The time is over- due! CHAPTER XXII. SOLDIERS DISSATISFIED. Referring very briefly to another of the illusions or delusions of this Philippine war, we turn to the official records again. Upon page 44 of General E. S. Otis' official report of August 31, 1899, he said: l64 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. 'Individual applications for discharge became numer- ous, and on December 15 (1898) I forwarded to the Adjutant General of the army the following communica- tion." He then refers to applications for discharge and says: "They refer to paragraph 2, General Orders No. 40, current series, and think the present cessation of active hostilities between the United States and Spain is 'the close of the war' within the meaning of the para- graph, and hence these numerous individual applications. * * * The number of these applicants indicates the desire of the enlisted men of the command to escape the country, and shows how difficult it is to hold them in condition of contented discipline. * * * Under present exigencies I am obliged to disapprove of all these applications. ' But, notwithstanding the desire to hold the volunteers as above expressed (and it was necessary to hold them or no army would remain), I continue to believe that we might overcome difficulties without resort to force." Upon page 83 of this same report General Otis, in a letter intended as a statement of the situation for the mixed commission of Americans and Filipinos, appointed in January, 1899, to confer for the purpose of preserving peaceful relations, states concerning volunteers : "I decline to return them, so long as we are threat- ened with hostilities." An Associated Press dispatch dated ''Manila, April 7, 1899, via Hong Kong," read: "A majority of the United States volunteers are eager to return home, and 'we did not enlist to fight niggers/ is a remark that is constantly heard. * * * "The volunteers construe their enlistment 'to the close of the war' to apply to the war with Spain, and wish to be relieved by regulars." Governor Lind of Minnesota received the following cablegram from Colonel Ames of the 13th Minnesota Volunteers dated Manila, April 15, 1899: SOLDIERS DEMAND DISCHARGE. 165 "The regiment desires to be ordered home and mus- tered out of the service unanimously." Another Associated Press dispatch, dated "St. Paul, Minn., April 20th" (1899), stated: ^'Governor Lind re- ceived the following cablegram from Manila after i o'clock this morning: 'Lind, St. Paul: The regiment must be ordered home and mustered out of the service at once. Officers of Regiment.' "The message came in cipher and unsolicited, and was not in answer to any inquiry made by the Governor." By the Associated Press : "Washington, D. C., April 17th. — Senator Pettigrew, of South Dakota, has written a letter to the President requesting the return of the South Dakota volunteers now in the Philippines. "The Senator says that under the law they are en- titled to come home, and that they should not be re- tained against their will. He claims he has received re- quests from 119 members of the South Dakota regi; ment asking to be discharged and sent home. "Orders were issued to-day to General Brooke to dis- charge men in the regular army in Cuba who had enlisted only for the war with Spain. "Considerable complaint has been made because these men were not allowed to return home, and those whose applications were refused have interested United States Senators and others to procure their discharge. Under the law increasing the regular army for the war with Spain there was a provision that the enlistment should be only during the war. "St. Paul, Minn., April 17th. — Governor Lind to-day sent a message to the Legislature urging some action looking toward the speedy return from Manila of the 13th Minnesota Volunteers. He says that all appeals to that end addressed to the President and to the War Depart- ment have been ignored, save in a few individual cases that were influenced by partisanship. He says the volun- teers are being held contrary to law and that he has been l66 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. notified by Colonel Ames that the regiment desires unanimously to return home." Governor Andrew E. Lee, of South Dakota, appealed to the President for the return of the First South Dakota regiment as follows: "In obedience to what I believe to be the most universal wish of the State, I desire to re- quest the return to the United States of the First South Dakota Volunteer Infantry, now engaged under General Otis in war against the inhabitants of the island of Luzon. * * * "The soldiers of the First South Dakota enlisted in the w^ar against Spain, which was concluded some time since by the signing of the Paris treaty of peace. The task for which they entered the service has been completed. The war for humanity has ended, the battle for the liberation of Spain's enthralled subjects has been successfully con- cluded, and since that war is the one for which the sol- diers enlisted, my people feel that South Dakota Volun- teers have fulfilled every obligation they owe to their country and its flag, and that they should be allowed to return to their native land, to rejoin their families and friends and to take up the peaceful pursuits which they dropped when the call came to enter upon a campaign for the promotion of the right of self-government." Mr. Robert M. Collins, correspondent of the Asso- ciated Press in the Philippines, wrote to the general manager, M. E. Stone, Esq., under date of Manila, P. L, July 30, 1899, describing the situation there under the censorship and a conversation between the correspond- ents and General Otis in which he stated as follows : "We reminded him that while he had been reporting to Washington that 'the volunteers will render willing service until relieved,' the same volunteers were sending regimental petitions to the Governors of their States to use every influence to secure their recall; that some regi- ments had petitioned him to relieve them from duty; that the members of various regiments had at certain stages SOLDIERS ALMOST MUTINY. 167 of the war been in a frame of mind closely resembling mutiny ; that the members of the Third Artillery, who had enlisted for the war with Spain, had threatened to stack their guns on the 4th of July unless discharged." The following is a portion of a letter from a member of the Third Artillery: *T saw a dispatch from General Otis in an American paper wherein he says that the volunteers wanted to stay here. That is a lie, as well as a good many other reports which are sent in. The soldiers have no heart in this fight. In one day six of our battery deserted, but were caught and sentenced to thirty days in prison. This is preferred to doing duty and more have followed. * * * Should we not be relieved when the new troops arrive, this month, there will be mutiny in several regi- ments, including ours, Nebraska, Kansas, Pennsylvania and Montana regiments." We have the original letter before us, but will not quote the bitterest of it, which might make a bad mat- ter worse, as it shows a state of feeling among as brave and patriotic a set of men as ever fought under any flag, that shames a nation which will allow its soldiery to be conscripted unconstitutionally as they were. Sergeant McCosham, of Marinette, Wisconsin, who went out as one of the First South Dakota Volunteers, wrote as follows : *Two days after San Fernando was taken our regiment had but 190 men on the line, the remainder being dead, wounded or sick. General McArthur complained of the number of men sick, other regiments being in the same shape as ours, and Major Potter with one other surgeon was sent in to Manila to rush men to the front. Acting under instructions, he sent 108 men to the front. Of these thirty were unable to reach the depot, a mile dis- tant, many of them fainting on the way, some twenty- eight or thirty ultimately arrived at San Fernando in worse condition than when sent to Manila, the others l68 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. being ordered back to Manila by surgeons along the line of the railroad, who saw at a glance they were in a pre- carious condition. I saw two of these men brought into ward D, of the ist Reserve Hospital, who will die before this letter leaves Manila. I can prove by the records of the hospital that men were ordered to the front whose temperature was 103 degrees, and men from other regi- ments fared no better. "Major-General Otis has telegraphed that the volun- teers are anxious to remain here, when I know and every officer on the island knows that 95 per cent of the enlisted men in the eighth army corps are praying to God to get home at once. "You Americans shudder at the tryanny of Spain and the cruelty visited upon the natives of Luzon and Cuba, but I want to tell you that bright, brave, young Ameri- cans who volunteered to defend their country in the hour of peril, are giving up their lives by service in sacrifice to the vanity of star bespangled generals and a fog- headed dollar-hearted bureau of officials at home. "The fierce tropical heat, the fever cursed atmosphere, and the bullets of the insurgents, are working such havoc among the men that the surgeons and nurses are abso- lutely unable to give to the sick and wounded the care that they should receive. "You may publish this letter and my name shall be signed. I would face a courtmartial willingly and prove more than I write, for I know that it is only by arousing the sense of the States that we can be relieved — and to stay much longer will be death to most of us. "When I feel a little better, when the curse of patriot- ism lays a trifle lighter on our heads, I shall write a longer, a more cheerful letter; until that time I am, with sincerest regards to all of the old friends and best wishes for your own success. Your friend, "Hugh D. McCosham, "Sergt. Co. H. ist S. D. Vol. Inf." Upon page 121 of his official report of August 31, 1899, General Otis states, as regards desire of troops to re- turn home: "The volunteers had again become very MISSTATEMENTS BY MR. McKINLEY. 169 restless and desired to depart. On June 2d the surgeon of one of these regiments reported that of 873 officers and enUsted men 30 per cent were in the Manila hos- pitals sick and wounded, 30 per cent were sick at San Fernando, 'and of the remainder there are not eight men in each company who have the strength to endure one day's march.' In respect to this report the chief surgeon of MacArthur's division remarked that he had made a careful examination of the men and that of the whole number in the regiment then present only ninety-six were fit for duty." We could continue such evidence indefinitely. Notwithstanding the well-known facts in the case, Mr. McKinley had the hardihood, when he welcomed the Tenth Pennsylvania Volunteers on their return in Pittsburg, on August 28, 1899, to say of the soldiers who had demanded discharge from what they considered a wicked war: "Privileged to be mustered out in April, when the ratifications of the treaty of peace were exchanged, they did not claim the privilege — they declined it. They vol- untarily remained in the service and declared their pur- pose to stay until their places could be filled by new levies and longer if the government needed them." And again in St. Paul, on October 12, 1899, upon the return of the Thirteenth Minnesota Volunteers, he said: "I was glad that they didn't want to come home until the government of the United States was ready to dis- pense with their services. I was glad that no matter who advised otherwise, they did not propose to beat a retreat." Surely Mr. McKinley should have the medal for being both the champion lawyer and model politician ! How Mr. McKinley could stand and say what he said in his sane mind before mothers of boys who sent such messages to them and wrote such letters of them and ''this accursed war," as General Lawton termed it, we can 170 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. scarcely comprehend, and to illustrate we quote only one of each. Mothers of the boys of the First Nebraska regiment telegraphed to them when the call for re-enlist- ment came: **Boys, don't re-enlist; insist on immediate discharge." This was sent after the regiment had appealed for at least a respite, having been worn out in this war. One mother wrote: **My boy writes: *It makes me fairly faint and sick to see the wounded Filipinos who are brought into the hos- pital, all shot to pieces with our rapid fire guns.' ''Must I believe that the teaching I gave my little boy twenty years ago, was wrong, when I taught him not to be cruel to any of God's creatures, not even a worm? This teaching seems almost to unfit him for the cruel work he is now engaged in. He enlisted in the cause of humanity, to save men from oppression, now he writes: T did not enlist in a war of conquest, the object for which we enlisted is just the reverse,' and he wants to come home, but is compelled to stay (as all the volunteers are) and help kill the Filipinos to 'civilize them,' and bring them under American rule. The boy we taught to honor the flag — that emblem of liberty and independence, must now, against his convictions, fol- low that flag as it leads our American boys on to trample down a people for daring to ask for liberty and inde- pendence, cultivating a spirit in them which blunts all moral sense to the rights of others, and 'President Mc- Kinley approves.' Do not tell me this is God's way of expansion. Let the church use any other argument but this, for it dishonors the name of Christ and destroys the 'faith which worketh by love.' I cannot find any- thing in the teachings of Jesus Christ that justifies this Philippine war, and to 'keep the faith' I must abide in the doctrine of Christ. Mrs. E. W. Akers, "Pipestone, Minn." On August 28, 1899, Mr. McKinley declared in Pitts- burg that: "Every step taken was in obedience to the re- quirements of the constitution," and he added: "Until MISSTATEMENTS BY MR. McKINLEY. ^7^ the treaty was ratified we had no authority beyond Ma- nila City, bay and harbor. We then had no other title to defend, no authority beyond that to maintain. Spain was still in possession of the remainder of the archipelago. Spain had sued for peace. The truce and treaty were not concluded." December 21, 1898, seven weeks before the treaty was ratified, sovereignty over all the Philippine Islands was proclaimed, which, according to Mr. McKinley's own words, was illegal and unconstitutional, because, as he said: "Until the treaty was ratified, we had no authority beyond Manila City, bay and harbor." Congress alone is empowered by the constitution to declare war for this country, and Congress has never yet declared any war of conquest against the Filipinos, though it did declare a war to free the oppressed people of Cuba from Spanish tyranny. The thirteenth amendment to the constitution pro- hibits slavery in the United States or "any place subject to its jurisdiction," but slavery is permitted in the Sulu Archipelago by treaty provisions, never ratified consti- tutionally by the Senate. Yet Mr. McKinley declared that "every step taken was in obedience to the requirements of the constitu- tion." President McKinley, in his speech at Sioux Falls, South Dakota, October 14, 1899, said: "When the treaty of peace was made by which Spain ceded to us the entire archipelago, which treaty was ratified by more than two-thirds of the Senate of the United States, * * * j^ became our duty to estab- lish authority. A portion of one tribe^ representing the smallest fraction of the entire population of the islands, resisted American authority." 172 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. General Anderson, commanding the first American army in the Phihppines, wrote: ''We held Manila and Cavite. The rest of the island was held not by the Spaniards, but by the FiHpinos. On the other islands the Spaniards were confined to two or three fortified towns. At the time referred to we could not claim to hold by purchase, for we had not then received Spain's quitclaim deed to the archipelago." General Otis, in his first official report as Governor- General of the Philippines, stated in reference to the period prior to this Treaty of Peace. "The insurrection had spread to and was active in all the islands with the exception of the Sulu archipelago. * * * Vessels flying the Spanish flag could not safely enter any ports which had been seized by the insur- gents." — General Otis' report, page 14. General MacArthur, the present Governor-General of the Philippines, stated to a correspondent of the "Crite- rion" in an interview at Manila: "When I first started in against these rebels I believed that Aguinaldo's troops represented only a faction. I did not like to believe that the whole population: of Luzon — the native population — was opposed to us. But having come thus far, after having occupied several towns and cities in succession, and having been brought into contact with both 'insurrectos' and 'amigos,' I have been reluctantly compelled to believe that the Filipino masses are loyal to Aguinaldo and the government which he heads." Thus we have the words of these three of our com- manding generals in the Philippines, sustained fully by the facts in the case, that the Filipino insurrection was far reaching, if not universal, against Mr. McKinley's personal assertion to the contrary. Before passing on, we must call attention to one more MISSTATEMENTS BY MR. McKINLEY. 173 of Mr. McKinley's marvelous myths, with which he mys- tifies the truth. In his message of December 5th, 1899, he stated as to the opening of hostilities at the battle of Manila, Febru- ary 4th and 5th, 1899: "Just before the time set by the Senate of the United States for a vote upon the treaty, an attack, evidently prepared in advance, was made all along the American lines which resulted in a terribly destructive and san- guinary repulse of the insurgents." On page 92 of his ofificial record of August 31st, 1899, Gen. E. S. Otis describes this "attack" as *'an insurgent approaching the picket and refusing to halt or answer when challenged. The result was our picket discharged his piece, when the insurgent troops near Santa Mesa opened a spirited fire on our troops there stationed. The engagement was one strictly defensive on the part of the insurgents and of vigorous attack by our forces." * * * *Tt is not believed that the chief insurgent leaders wished to open hostilities at this time, as they were not completely prepared to assume the initiative." Gen. C. McC. Reeve, who was provost marshal of Ma- nila at that time, says that on February 5th, 1899, "Gen. Torres, of the insurgents, came through the lines under a flag of truce and had a personal interview with Gen. Otis, in which, speaking for Aguinaldo, he declared that the fighting had begun accidentally and was not author- ized by Aguinaldo; that Aguinaldo wished to have it stopped, and that to bring about a conclusion of hostil- ities he proposed the establishment of a neutral zone be- tween the two armies of any width that would be agree- able to Gen. Otis, so that during the peace negotiations there might be no further danger of conflict between the two armies. To these representations of Gen. Torres, 174 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. Gen. Otis sternly replied that the fighting, having once begun, must go on to the grim end." Yet Mr. McKinley says: "An attack evidently pre- pared in advance was made all along the American lines." If Mr. Lincoln were living to-day we believe he would say of this war against the Philippines and Mr. Mc- Kinley's policy what he said of the war with Mexico, which he declared was commenced contrary to the Con- stitution by President Polk, when he explained his vote against it as follows: "I more than suspect that already he is deeply con- scious of being in the wrong; that he feels the blood of Abel is crying to Heaven against him; that originally having some strong motive (what I will not now stop to give my opinion concerning) to involve the two coun- tries in a war, and trusting to escape scrutiny by fixing the public gaze upon the exceeding brightness of mili- tary glory, that attractive rainbow that rises in show- ers of blood, he plunged into it, and has swept on and on, till disappointed in his calculation of the ease with which Mexico might be subdued, he now finds himself he knows not where. "How like the half insane mumblings of a fever dream is the whole war part of his late message. * * * ^s I have said before, he knows not where he is. He is a bewildered, confounded, and miserably perplexed man. God grant he may be able to show there is not some- thing about his conscience more painful than all his mental perplexities." — Lincoln's Complete Works, Vol. I, page 1 06, Jan. 12, 1848. We who have formerly loved and honored and voted for Mr. McKinley would far prefer to believe that he was a "miserably perplexed man" than to think that he was a willful falsifier, or even guiltily ignorant of the facts of the case. The saddest sight in this world is to see such a man MR. McKINLEY MISTAKEN. 175 fall so far short of his high calling without a cause. To be sure, Mr. McKinley declared in his speech of October 12, 1899, at Minneapolis, very graciously : "That Congress will provide for them (the Filipinos), a government which will bring them blessings, which will promote their material interests, as well as advance their people in the paths of civilization and intelligence, I confidently believe." Just as graciously did His Royal Highness, King George the HI. of England, cry out of the kindness of his heart in 1776: "I am desirous of restoring to them (the American col- onies) the blessings of law, which they have fatally and desperately exchanged for the calamities of war, and the arbitrary tyranny of their chiefs." In this connection we cannot refrain from quoting our martyr President's noble words, which Mr. Lincoln uttered in his speech at Chicago, 111., July 10, 1858: 'Those arguments that are made that the inferior race are to be treated with as much allowance as they are capable of enjoying; that as much is to be done for them as their condition will allow; what are these argu- ments? They are the arguments that kings have made for enslaving the people in all ages of the world. ^ You will note that all the arguments of kingcraft were always of this class. They always bestrode the necks of the people not that they wanted to do it, but because the people were better ofif for being ridden. * * * Turn it every way you will, whether It comes from the mouth of a king as an excuse for enslaving the people of his country, or from the mouth of one race as a reason for enslaving the men of another race, it is all the same old serpent."— Lincoln's Complete Works, Vol. I, page 259. We w'ant no Oriental Irelands under our free flag, no Mohammedan, polygamous, slave-holding despotism! 176 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. "THE FLAG OF THE FREE." Ours is the flag of the free and brave; Why should it fly, then, over a slave ? Once 'twas only the flag of the free, As God grant again it soon may be! Our fathers fought in the long ago, And our dear ones fell to make it so. By the blood they shed, we vow again To cleanse that flag from its cursed stain ! Our dear old flag, not long shall it wave Under a despot, over a slave ! By ballots or bullets, or by both. We call to the free to keep the oath ! The flag of the free it yet shall be — The flag of the free, and only free ! — H. H. Van Meter. Chicago, May, 1900. CHAPTER XXIII. THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS APPEAL TO SPAIN FOR PROTECTION. Referring to the extreme bitterness between the Spanish priests or friars and the Filipino people, Rev. Father Ambrose Coleman in his book writes thus: "It seemed truly to be directed against the church, and to be animated by a deadly hostility to the repre- sentatives of religion;" and again he goes on to state: 'The position of the religious orders in the Philip- pines, just before the war broke out between Spain and America, had become so perilous and unbearable that they addressed a long memorial to the Spanish govern- ment, exposing their grievances, explaining the cause of the rebellion, and suggesting remedies suitable for the situation." So powerful had the Masons and Katipunans become DENOUNCE SECRET SOCIETIES. 177 during the last rebellion, prior to the Spanish-American war, and before the Treaty of Peace had pledged the power of the American army and navy for the protec- tion of the friars from the Filipinos, who threatened to banish them from the Philippines, that the religious orders addressed a memorial to the Spanish govern- ment, stating that they must withdraw soon if not better protected. It charged the Freemasons with the organization and leadership of the Katipunan society, and declared: "If we had given the faintest mark, not of sympathy, but even of toleration, to the men who were scattering broadcast false notions of liberty, condemned by the church, the religious congregations would never have been disturbed." It asserted that the hostility to the religious orders was due to the fact that, **Our standard is no other than the syllabus of the great pontiff, Pius IX., so frequently confirmed by Leo XIII., wherein all rebellion against the legitimate powers is so energet- ically condemned." It claims that the religious orders should be supported "as the sole Spanish institution, pre-eminent and deeply rooted, which exists in the islands, a vigorous organization well adapted to those regions." The inference from it is, that the hatred of the Filipinos for the religious orders is due to the pas- sionate love of the people for the principles of "Free Thought, Liberty of the Press, Secularization of Educa- tion, Ecclesiastical Liquidation," and "Suppression of the Privileges of the Clergy." Enlarging upon the popular opposition to the re- ligious orders, it demands the punishment and preven- tion thereof for the future thus: "If the government does not protect us from the avalanche of insult hurled against us, if it does not root 178 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. out the secret societies, if it allows our sacerdotal char- acter to be trodden under foot, while our enemies de- stroy the fruit of our labors, we regret to say that we cannot continue our ministry in the islands. * * * We prefer to abandon our ministry and see ourselves expelled rather than continue our mission in the islands if the situation does not better itself before long." But ''the situation" did "better itself before long," for the friars, and became fatal to the Filipinos by means of **the hated Protestant conquerors." In the article entitled "A Sketch of Catholicity in the Philippines," by Charleson Shane, in "The Catholic World" of August, 1898, we find the following state- ments: "With Legaspi, founder of Manila in 1571, came a band of Augustinian monks. They were followed some five years later by a body of Franciscans, and before a dozen years had passed Manila had a Dominican bishop and an addition of missionaries of the Order of Preach- ers and the Society of Jesus. To-day, according to fig- ures published in the "Etudes" of July 5, 1898, the spiritual charges of the various communities is repre- sented by the following table: 1892 — Augustinians 2,082,131 souls 1892 — Recollects 1,175,156 souls 1892 — Franciscans 1,010,753 souls 1892 — Dominicans 699,851 souls 1895 — Jesuits 213,065 souls 1896 — Secular Clergy 967,294 souls "Most significant in the above table is the comparative fewness of souls cared for by the secular or native clergy. The work is all done, the power all possessed by the monks. Whatever the reason — we may be able to guess — this is most unfortunate. Antagonize religious sentiment and patriotism, and you have done much to uproot the influence of the spiritual authority." According to the foregoing figures there were 6,148,250 members of the Roman Catholic church In the FRIARS IN PHILIPPINES. 179 Philippines at the stated dates, and turning to another article in 'The Catholic World" of June, 1899, by Mr. Bryan J. Clinch, we find the following statements: "The official records of both the religious orders and the government, published long before Dewey entered Manila Bay, show that in no Catholic country is the number of priests so small, compared with the popula- tion, as in the Philippines. "In 1896 the whole clergy of the islands only num- bered 1,988 priests between all the orders and seculars combined. The secular clergy amounted to 773, of whom about one-half is of the native races." This would show only 387 native priests, and accord- ing to Mr. Lala no native can now become a priest, owing to activity in recent insurrections. Deducting the number of secular clergy from the total, we find the number of friars to have been 1,215. This number in- cluded all those in the Carolines and Ladrones, as well as professors and missionaries in the Philippines. These figures would show about one friar to every 5,000 native Roman Catholic Filipinos, or not far from one friar for every 10,000 natives of all classes and faiths or no faith whatever, as the case may be, including Mohammedans, Chinese and all others. In short, the interests of one foreign Spanish born friar only, was at stake, as over against the welfare of every 10,000 native Filipinos. Yet the welfare of the 10,000 natives was of no ac- count as compared with the one friar's interests, in- trigues and wishes, which outweighed those of all others. Governor-General Blanco, before he left the Philip- pines in 1896, had found the situation so intolerable there that he had demanded either the immediate ex- pulsion of the religious orders or reinforcements of an l8o THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. army of 8o,ocX) men to crush the insurrectionary move- ment against the friars. FaiHng to secure either the expulsion of the Spanish monks, or the Spanish army for the enforcement of their obnoxious rule, he resigned. Then followed the insurrection of 1896, which was so successful that the treaty of Biac-na-Bato, promising the required reforms, including among other stipula- tions: "i. The expulsion, or at least secularization, of the religious orders" (see page 344 of Senate document No. 62), brought about a partial peace for a short time. The utter disregard of this treaty, which was simply a Spanish trick, to accomplish by treachery what they had failed to do by force, brought about a renewal of hostili- ties as soon as the Filipinos realized the situation. CHAPTER XXIV. BROKEN PROMISES— SPANISH AND AMERICAN. Upon page 462 of Senate Document No. 62 Mr. Fore- man tells of the treachery of the Spaniards at this time as follows: ''Martinez Campos had signed the treaty of Zanjon (terminating the ten years war in Cuba) * * * for which he thought himself responsible in a certain sense, but he was pooh-poohed and laughed at. They said: The Cubans have laid down their arms, every- thing is quiet; why should we do anything more? We have accomplished what we wanted.' He said: T have given my word of honor; my personal honor is af- fected.' But they said: * * * Tt is a very good trick * * * Let the reforms go; never mind the engagement.' They have done the same thing with the treaty of Biac-na-bato, made with Emilio Aguinaldo, the rebel general. * * * One of the conditions was that the families and others connected with the rebellion should not be molested in any form or sense whatever; GENERAL ALEJANDRINO'S LETTER. i8l but immediately that Aguinaldo left for Hongkong the priests started to persecute those left behind, and the result was that another chief turned up. I knew his father well— Alejandrino. He had fled, but returned, and is one of the leaders now." This evidently is the same Alejandrino who, with Aguinaldo, started the insurrection in 1896 and was first to return and renew the struggle in 1898. He seems also to be the general of the Filipino army who recently wrote Senators Hoar and Pettigrew in re- gard to Admiral Dewey's promises the following letter, of which the correspondent of The Chicago Daily News writes under date of Hong Kong, Aug. 22 (1900): ''Consul-General Wildman, having had his attention drawn to this letter, authorized The Daily News corre- spondent to deny it 'in toto.' " "Sinukwan Encampment, Philippine Islands, April 12, 1900. — R. F. Pettigrew and G. F. Hoar, Senators, Wash- ington. — Gentlemen: I have read in some American papers that Admiral Dewey, compelled by you and other senators, lovers of truth and justice, to answer whether he had made to us formal promises of inde- pendence, stated that he had 'never promised independ- ence to the Filipinos.' I, who, in the name of the Filipino people and of Gen. Aguinaldo and as a representative of these have had the honor to confer several times with the admiral, make to you the following statements that you may use them as you should think more convenient: "In April, 1898, when the rupture of hostilities be- tween America and Spain became imminent, and in the absence of my chief. Gen. Aguinaldo, who was then at Singapore, I solicited, through the American consul at Hongkong, Mr. Wildman, to have some interviews with Admiral Dewey, with the object of continuing the interrupted negotiations between Gen. Aguinaldo and Admiral Dewey, through Mr. Wood, the commander of the American gunboat Petrel. My petition was favor- ably received and I went with Mr. Andres Garchitorena, l82 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. another Filipino, on board the Olympia in the bay of Hongkong. "Once on board the following interview in French took place, the flag lieutenant, Mr. Brumby, acting as interpreter: ''Filipino — 'Admiral, it having come to our knowl- edge that a war between your country and Spain is im- minent, we, who have fought the latter for our inde- pendence, are wilHng, in obedience to the desires mani- fested by you to Gen. Aguinaldo, through Mr. Wood, to take part in the war as allies of America, so long as it be carried on with the object of freeing from the yoke of Spain her colonies, giving them their independence.' "Admiral Dewey — 'The American people, champions of liberty, will undertake this war with the humanitarian object of freeing from the Spanish yoke the peoples under it, and will give you independence and freedom, as we have proclaimed to the world at large.' "Filipino — 'We are very grateful for this generous manifestation of the great American people, and being made through an admiral of their navy, we value it more than a written contract, and thereupon place ourselves at your entire disposal.' "Admiral Dewey — 'I place at your disposal the ships of my fleet for the conveyance of both FiHpino leaders and the arms you may get. Moreover, I think my gov- ernment is willing to supply you with arms and ammuni- tion.' "Filipino — 'We are very thankful to you for this new generosity of the American people, and you may be sure that we are ready to fight at your side for the inde- pendence of the Philippines, even without arms, as we have done during the recent revolution.' "Admiral Dewey — 'America is rich in every respect; she has territories sparsely inhabited. Besides, our con- stitution prevents territorial expansion outside of Amer- ica; therefore the Filipinos may be sure of their inde- pendence and not a bit of their land shall be taken from them.' "After these conclusive and formal statements the GENERAL ALEJANDRINO'S LETTER. 183 conversation turned to other details concerning the state of the country." The letter is signed "J. Alejandrino." He is a Filipino general who recently surrendered to the American troops. Referring to their exile in Hongkong and his inter- views with the commander of the U. S. S. 'Tetrell," Aguinaldo wrote in his Official Review of the Philip- pine Revolution as follows: "I and my companions did not long have to remain in this critical situation, for in the month of March of the same year, 1898, a Jewish gentleman presented him- self to me in the name of the commander of the Ameri- can warship Petrell, soliciting an interview at the insti- gation of Admiral Dewey. ''Various interviews took place with this commander, from the night of the i6th of March to the 6th of April, in which he wished me to return to the Philippines and renew there the war of independence against the Span- iards, offering me the assistance of the United States, in case of war being declared between that nation and Spain. 'Thereupon I asked the commander of the Petrell what concessions the United States would make to the Philippine islands, on which he replied that 'the United States was a great and rich nation and had no need of colonies.' "In view of this I explained to the commander the necessity of putting down in writing the above agree- ment, to which he replied that he would submit the mat- ter to Admiral Dewey." Commander Wood of the Petrell has passed away, so we cannot call upon him for evidence as to these inter- esting interviews. But just about this time the Spanish Governor-General of the Philippines issued the famous proclamation which was read by order of Admiral Dew- ey to the men of the American fleet just before they went l84 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. into action in the battle of Manila Bay, which brought out a counter proclamation from the Filipinos. We will give both of these documents so that those not familiar with them may judge for themselves the situation at that time. CHAPTER XXV. SPANISH AND FILIPINO PROCLAMATIONS. The following is a translation of the governor-gener- al's proclamation, taken from 'The Bounding Billow," a little paper published at intervals on the U. S. flagship Olympia, under date of "Manila, Philippine Islands, June, 1898," upon paper captured from the Spaniards and bearing the water marks still, to attest its genuine- ness: "Proclamation issued by the Governor-General of the Philippines — Spaniards : "Between Spain and the United States of North America hostilities have broken out. "The moment has come to prove to the world that we possess the spirit to conquer those who, pretending to be loyal friends, take advantage of our misfortune and abuse our hospitality, using means which civilized nations count unworthy and disreputable. "The North American people, constituted of all the social excrescences, have exhausted our patience and provoked war, with their perfidious machinations, with their acts of treachery and with their outrages against the laws of nations and international treaties. "The struggle will be short and decisive. (It was.) The God of victories will give us one as complete as the righteousness and justice of our cause demands. Spain, which counts upon the sympathies of all the nations, will emerge triumphant from this new test, humiliating and blasting the adventurers from those states that, without cohesion and. without a history, offer to human- GOVERNOR-GENERAL'S PROCLAMATION. 185 ity only infamous traditions and the spectacle of a Con- gress in which appear united insolence and defamation, cowardice and cynicism. ''A squadron manned by foreigners, possessing neith- er instruction nor discipline, is preparing to come to this archipelago with the ruffianly intention of robbing us of all that means life, honor and liberty. "Pretending to be inspired by a courage of which they are incapable, the North American seamen undertake as an enterprise capable of realization the substitution of Protestantism for the Catholic religion you profess, to treat you as tribes refractory to civilization, to take pos- session of your riches as if they were unacquainted with the rights of property and to kidnap those persons whom they consider useful to man their ships, or to be ex- ploited in agricultural or industrial labor. "Vain design! Ridiculous boastings! "Your indomitable bravery will suffice to frustrate the attempt to carry them into realization. You will not consent that they shall profane the faith that you pro- fess, that impious footsteps shall defile the temple of the true God, nor that unbelief shall destroy the holy images which you adore. The aggressors shall not profane the tombs of your fathers, they shall not gratify their lustful passions at the cost of your wives' and daughters' honor, nor appropriate the property which your industry has accumulated to assure your livelihood. No, they shall not perpetuate any of these crimes, inspired by their wickedness and covetousness, because your valor and patriotism will suffice to punish and abase the people that, claiming to be civilized and cultivated, have exter- minated the natives of North America, instead of bring- ing to them the life of civilization and progress. "Filipinos, prepare for the struggle, and united under the glorious flag of Spain, which is ever covered with laurels, let us fight with the conviction that victory will crown our efforts, and to the summons of our enemies let us oppose with the decision of the Christian and the patriot, the cry of 'Viva Espana!' Your General, "Basilio Agustin y. Davila." .l86 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. In a special cable, copyright, 1899, by the Chicago Record, Joseph L. Stickney, with Admiral Dewey, sent the following, dated "Leghorn, Aug. 17" (1899): "Walking on the after-bridge this morning while the crew was drilling at quarters for battle, the admiral called my attention to the intelligent faces of his men. 'I brought the archbishop of Manila up here one day,' he said, *to let him see our seamen. He watched them closely for a long time; then he said he'd seen warships of all nations, but never a crew to equal mine. I told him all our men were like that and I had twenty more ships manned the same way. I wanted to impress him, for he was the man who wrote that outrageous proclamation about our seamen that General Augustin signed.' '* Following we quote the most important parts of the counter proclamation issued by the Filipino leaders at this time, calling upon all their followers to aid the Americans. Upon pages 345 and 346 of Senate Document No. 62, part 2, Records of the 55th Congress, may be found the following letter and "Inclosure" from U. S. Consul Gen- eral Pratt of Singapore, to Secretary of State Day of the State Department at Washington: "Consulate General of the United States, Singapore, May 20, 1898 — Sir: I have the honor to submit for your consideration a proclamation in Spanish, issued prior to the departure of our fleet for Manila by the in- surgent leaders in Hongkong, calling upon the Filipinos not to obey the appeal of the Spaniards to oppose the Americans, but to rally in support of these, as they came as their friends and liberators. Three copies of the Eng- lish translation of the above I also inclose, for handing to the press, should that, in your opinion, seem advis- able. I have the honor to be E. Spencer Pratt, "United States Consul General." FILIPINO MANIFESTO. 187 ''(Inclosure) "America's Allies. 'The Manifesto of the Filipinos. "Compatriots: Divine Providence is about to place independence within our reach, and in a way the most free and independent nation could hardly wish for. "The Americans, not from mercenary motives, but for the sake of humanity and the lamentation of so many persecuted people, have considered it opportune to ex- tend their protecting mantle to our beloved country, now that they have been obliged to sever relations with Spain, owing to the tyranny this nation is exercising in Cuba, causing enormous injury to the Americans, who have such large commercial and other interests there. "At the present moment an American squadron is pre- paring to sail for the Philippines. "We, your brothers, are very much afraid that you may be induced to fire on the Americans. No, brothers, never make this mistake. Rather blow your own brains out than fire a shot or treat as enemies those who are your liberators. "Take no notice of the governor-general calling you to arms, although it may cost you your lives. * * * "Take note, the Americans will attack by sea and pre- vent any re-enforcements coming from Spain; therefore we insurgents must attack by land. Probably you will have more than sufficient arms, because the Americans have arms and will find means to assist us. "There where you see the American flag flying, assem- ble in numbers; they are our redeemers. "Our unworthy names are as nothing, but one and all of us invoke the name of the greatest patriot our coun- try has seen, in the sure and certain hope that his spirit will be with us in these moments and guide us to victory — our immortal Jose Rizal." This being a counter proclamation to that of the arch- bishop, signed by the governor-general and read by or- der of Admiral Dewey to 'his men before the battle of Manila Bay, shows who were the friends and foes of l88 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. America in the Philippines from the first — Friars or Fil- ipinos. History has already shown how faithfully the Fili- pinos fought for us and their own freedom, as our own official records clearly recount. From the foregoing proclamation it is perfectly evi- dent that whatever had or had not been said to the Fili- pino leaders at this time, they had been led to believe that we were fighting to free them, with the oppressed people of Cuba, from the cruel tyranny of Spain. The cause of freedom being the same in the Philip- pines as in Cuba, they could see no right reason for our freeing the Cubans and at the same time fettering the Filipinos, and they evidently "trusted to our honor," as all our representatives told them they could do, with safety. They had read the 4th clause of the joint Cuban resolution passed by Congress and approved by the president: "That the United States disclaims any disposition or intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction or control over said island, except for the pacification thereof, and asserts its determination when that is accomplished to leave the government and control of the island to its people," in accordance with the ist clause of those reso- lutions : 'That the people of the island of Cuba are and of a right ought to be, free and independent," which was the language of our own Declaration of Independence and intended as a reiteration by the representatives of the people of this great republic of its divine principles. But the passage of these resolutions by Congress was most bitterly opposed by the friends of freedom, as was the war for the liberation of Cuba strenuously opposed by President McKinley and his influential advisers. CONSUL WILLIAMS' CORRESPONDENCE. 189 CHAPTER XXVI. THE PHILIPPINE REPUBLIC. One week after the destruction of the battleship Maine Consul Williams wrote from Manila under date of Feb- ruary 22, 1898, officially: ''A republic is organized here." See pages 319 and 320, Senate Document No. 62, part two, as follows : "Peace was proclaimed and since my coming festivities therefor were held, but there is no peace and has been none for about two years. Conditions here and in Cuba are practically alike. War exists, battles are of almost daily occurrence, ambulances bring in many wounded and hospitals are full. Prisoners are brought here and shot without trial and Manila is under martial law. The crown forces have not been able to dislodge a rebel army within ten miles of Manila, and last Saturday, February 19, a battle was there fought. * * * ^ republic is organized here as in Cuba. Insurgents are being armed and drilled; are rapidly increasing in numbers and effi- ciency, and all agree that a general uprising will come as soon as the governor-general embarks for Spain, which is fixed for March." "While some combatant regiments have recently been returned to Spain, it was for appearance only, and all authorities now agree that unless the crown largely re- inforces its army here, it will lose possession. "Command me for any desired information. Your obedient servant. Oscar F. Williams, "Consul." Notwithstanding this official notification to our gov- ernment more than two months before the battle of Manila Bay, that "a republic is organized here," and the Filipino proclamation calling all patriotic Filipinos to fight for "Independence" as "America's allies," Mr. McKinley declared in his proclamation of December 5, 190 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. 1899, that **the most the insurgent leader hoped for when he came bacK to Manila was the liberation of the islands from the Spanish control, which they had been laboring for years without success to throw off." The preliminary report of the first Philippine commis- sion also asserts, after recounting the battle of Manila Bay, and telling of the arrival of American troops under General Anderson, that "Now, for the first time, rose the idea of national independence." This they declared, although Secretary of State Day had officially rebuked Consul General Pratt of Singa- pore for not repelling the implication of the Fihpinos when they said to him that they hoped that the United States government would "secure to us our independ- ence under the protection of the United States." One who knows what the official records contain on this subject can only wonder at the audacity of such statements. The following is given as an illustration: Upon page 333 of Senate Document No. 62, part 2, of the 55th Congress, may be found a copy of the follow- ing letter from Consul General Wildman to Secretary of State Day, dated Hongkong, November 3, 1897, and informing our government of an actual Philippine repub- lic at that date, thus: "Since my arrival in Hongkong I have been called upon several times by Mr. F. Agoncilla, foreign agent and high commissioner, etc., of the new repubhc of the Philippines. "Mr. Agoncilla holds a commission, signed by the president, members of cabinet and general-in-chief of the republic of Philippines, empowering him absolutely with power to conclude treaties with foreign governments. "Mr. Agoncilla offers on behalf of his government alli- ance, offensive and defensive, with the United States, OFFICIAL DISPATCHES. 191 when the United States declares war on Spain, which, in Mr. Agoncilla's judgment, will be very soon." Three days after the date of Consul Williams' last let- ter quoted from, the following message was flashed to Dewey: "Secret and confidential. * * * Keep full of coal. In the event of declaration of war with Spain, your duty will be to see that the Spanish squadron does not leave the Asiatic coast, and then offensive operations in Phil- ippine islands." From Assistant Secretary of Navy Roosevelt to Commodore Dewey, February 25, 1898, Appendix Report Chief Bureau Navigation, p. 23. A little more than a month after, this message came back from Commander Dewey: "There is every reason to believe that, with Manila taken or even blockaded, the rest of the islands would fall to the insurgents or ourselves." Dispatch from Com- modore Dewey, Hongkong, March 31, 1898. A little less than a month after this last message the following was sent to Dewey at Hongkong: "Washington, April 26, 1898 — Dewey, Asiatic Squad- ron: Commence operations at once, particularly against the Spanish fleet. You must capture or destroy them. "McKinley." But it is impossible to present the situation so as to be intelligently judged of by our readers from mere tele- grams. For this reason we quote a very few official communications from our foreign consuls who con- ducted affairs for us then. On pages 320 and 321 of Document 62, under date of Manila, March 19, 1898, Consul Williams wrote: "Matters are in a serious state here. I have daily communication by cable and letter with Commodore Dewey, but we pass letters by British and other ship- masters and by private parties, because cables and letters are tampered with. 192 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. ''Insurrection is rampant; many killed, wounded and made prisoners on both sides. A battleship, the Don Juan de Austria, sent this week to the northern part of Luzon to co-operate with a land force of 2,000 dis- patched to succor local forces, overwhelmed by rebels. Last night special squads of mounted police were scat- tered at danger points to save Manila. * * * "Rebellion never more threatening. Rebels getting arms, money and friends, and they outnumber the Span- iards, resident and soldiery, probably a hundred to one." Upon the same page of this record is another letter of Consul Williams, dated Manila, March 27, 1898, con- taining the following: ''Cuban conditions exist here possibly in aggravated form. Spanish soldiers are killed and wounded daily, despite claimed pacification, and the hospitals are kept full. The majority of the casualties are reported from the ranks of the insurgents, and the cruelties and hor- rors of war are daily repeated. "Cavite is the naval port of Luzon, situated about eight miles across the bay from Manila, and about twenty miles distant by way of bay shore and public highway, and last Thursday, March 24, a crown regiment of na- tives, the Seventy-fourth, stationed there, was ordered to advance against the native insurgents nearby. The regiment refused to obey orders and eight corporals were called out and shot to death in presence of the regiment, which was again ordered to advance and threat made that refusal would be death to all. All did refuse and were sent to barracks to await sentence. On the morning of the following Friday, March 25, the en- tire regiment, with arms and equipment, marched out of the barracks and deserted in a body to the insurgents, saying they were willing to fight the foreign enemies of Spain, but would not fight their friends. "Since beginning this dispatch I learn of the desertion to the insurgents of another entire regiment. These are said to be the severest set-backs received by Spain dur- ing the two years' insurrection here." CONSUL WILLIAMS' CORRESPONDENCE. 193 Thus, according to the official report of our own con- sul, fully verified by Spanish official records, and facts of undeniable certainty, we ascertain that at this time in the Philippines, as in Cuba, the same terrible struggle for liberty was going on against the same cruel foe; "Cuban conditions," as stated, "in aggravated form." Upon pages 2>2^y 3^3, 324 and 325 of Senate Docu- ment No. 62 of the 55th Congress is to be found a letter from Consul Williams to Secretary of State Day, dated Manila, March 31, 1898, written in the dark days when the tide of indignation over Spanish barbarities was steadily rising in America to sweep them forever from the face of the North American continent. Mr. Williams wrote in part: "I turn with reluctance, but from a sense of duty, to somewhat inform you, as secretary of foreign affairs, of the insurrection which for about two years has devas- tated these marvelously fair islands, 'covered them with blood often of the innocent, and has bereft thousands of homes of the husbands and sons who were the sole breadwinners.' * * * "Censorship is rigid and the oldest daily there. El Diario de Manila, and another, have been suspended by public order because truth was told. * * * "Now, 5,000 armed rebels, which for days have been encamped near Manila and have been re-enforced from the mountains, plan to attack the city to-night. All is excitement, and life uncertain. "News came this afternoon of the wounding of a gov- ernor of one of the southern provinces and the defeat of the crown forces under his command. "The only church permitted here is the Roman Catho- lic, and its interference with the government, its intol- erance, immorality and despotism are perhaps the great- est drawbacks to progress on these islands. "From concensus of opinion received from men of several nationalities, from oldfest foreign residents, from natives, Chinese and a few Spaniards, I believe that of 194 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. the Philippine people, estimated at fifteen millions, not five per cent are loyal to Spain. *'But officials and priests, the leeches of the people, are in authority, have money, influence and cunning, so that the natives and half-breeds (Chinese and European) are more or less controlled. "During the period when war between the United States and Spain was expected, which seems happily now to be disappearing, I daily heard the assurance that the natives, half-breeds, Chinese merchants and such Spaniards as were in business, were all ready to welcome our fleet, fight with it to hoist over these islands the United States flag and swear allegiance to it, and once done, all interests here would thrive, be settled and 'happy." The first letter from Consul Williams, from which we have quoted, began thus : "Consulate of the United States, Manila, Philippine Islands, February 22, 1898 — Sir: Without specific in- structions it seems my duty at this critical period to inform the Washington government somewhat as to political conditions here. But as I have been here less than a month, vigilance has not overcome all difficulties, and a rigid censorship of the press in general and the suppression of such publications as uttered the truth have made news gathering onerous." See page 319 of Senate Document No. 62 of 55th Congress. In the last letter quoted from Consul Williams he states again: "Censorship is rigid, and the oldest daily there, El Diario de Manila, and another, have been sus- pended by public order, because truth was told." Freedom of speech and the press was one of the es- sential reforms for which the Filipinos were then fight- ing. To present the truth from the standpoint of an intelligent native Filipino Catholic, we quote again from Mr. Ramon Reyes Lala. As he avows himself to be a loyal Catholic, no one need imagine that this is intended as an attack upon that church. He says : SPANISH CENSORSHIP. 195 'The monks have opposed every attempt at reform. Their poHcy has ever been the poHcy of ignorance, knowing that their Uvehhood depended upon its per- petuation. It has been their aim, chiefly, to Hmit pubhc instruction to the mere rudiments of knowledge, giving to every subject a religious bias. Even the colleges and the university of Manila are not free from their narrow supervision, while they have ever maintained a rigid censorship over the press." CHAPTER XXVII. OPPOSING THE WAR FOR FREEDOM. Following up the former policy of the friars, the American government adopted the censorship system, and soon after Consul Williams' last letter quoted, we were left to get what news we could, in spite of govern- mental editing of news items, intended, as is evident enough now, to conceal the truth. Friends of the Spanish priests and friars in Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippines besieged the president in Washington. The pope in Rome and Archbishop Ire- land of St. Paul and a mighty army of American mer- cenaries, who, from selfish motives, feared a conflict, came to the front. The cause of freedom was to be sacrificed still for friars and financiers, although the people had spoken in thunder tones. Then it was that the world awoke to the fact that a new power had come into being, and a new era begun on earth. Though the agitation against Spanish outrages had reached its height and was publicly carried on, a counter movement, in fact a secret conspiracy, was being con- 196 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. cocted to counteract the tide of public sentiment and defeat the cause of freedom. The friars in the PhiHppines and their friends in Amer- ica and the world over, forming a mighty army, with millions of resources in their coffers, had high friends at court and in the field, who came to the front in their behalf, their interests being identical and their cause one. The archbishop of Manila, whose blasphemous pas- torals against Americans and Protestants disgusted all decent people, was a member of the same religious order to which belonged the head of the papal legation at Washington, so it is not to be wondered at that they worked unitedly. Nor is it any wonder that they united their forces the world over to work for the defeat of those wlio threat- ened them. That they did so, the following quotations would seem to show. They also throw a little light upon these words in Consul Williams' last letter: ^'During the period when war between the United States and Spain was expected, which seems happily now to be disap- pearing" — but our readers are left to judge for them- selves. In the Washington Times of April 4, 1898, it was stated that Archbishop Ireland, Senator Elkins and President McKinley had just been having a conference on the Spanish trouble. On April 12, 1898, the New York Journal said: "Diplomatically, Spain occupies a splendid position. She has done everything requested of her, and has done it at the suggestion of the six European powers, who re- ceived their inspiration from the queen regent, who in turn was operated upon by the pope, and the pope's in- terest was secured through the efiforts of Archbishop SPANISH SYMPATHIZERS PLOT. 197 Ireland, acting for the administration at the suggestion of Mr. Elkins." The Chicago Times-Herald of April 5 published the following: ''Madrid, April 4. — The Globo (Spanish newspaper) says: 'A new political power has developed in America in Archbishop Ireland, equal to that of Pres- ident Cleveland and President McKinley.' " In the St. Louis Globe-Democrat (Republican) of April 5 was the following: 'Tt has been generally known that Archbishop Ireland has all along been unfavorably disposed toward Cuba — he has been in sympathy with Spain rather than with the insurgents." Again the same St. Louis paper of this date reads as follows: ''Rome, April 4. — In accordance with the re- quest of the Globe-Democrat, I have to-day made a care- ful investigation of the circumstances in connection with the alleged intervention of the pope in the present Spanish-American crisis. "It is utterly untrue that the pope has offered to medi- ate, or that the Spanish government has even directly or indirectly requested him to do so. What has happened is as follows: Archbishop Ireland appears to have tele- graphed, not to the pope, but to Archbishop Keane and Bishop Dennis O'Connell, former rector of the Ameri- can college, suggesting that the intervention of the pope to avert war would be welcomed by the President of the United States. Archbishop Ireland is understood to have cabled to Bishop O'Connell and to Archbishop Keane that the main thing was at the present moment to induce Spain to grant an armistice to the Cubans, a concession which would enable the President to delay and ultimately avert war with Spain, and would strength- en his hands sufficiently to prevent it being forced by Congress. Cardinal Rampolla seems to have communi- cated this intimation, not officially, but privately, to the nuncio at Madrid, who in turn conveyed it to the queen regent and to the cabinet." 198 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. A dispatch to the Times-Herald from Washington read as follows: ''Shortly after the blowing- up of the Maine, Ireland was asked by certain political friends to use his influence with the pope in diverting, or at least postponing, the threatened war with Spain. In accord- ance with this request the archbishop wrote to his friend, Cardinal Vanutelli, a powerful Roman churchman, and advised him to approach the papal secretary of state, Rampolla, and obtain the influence of Senor Del Val, the Spanish ambassador to the papal see. But little was ac- complished through this channel, as Senor Del Val did not sympathize with the plan, and the pope appeared un- willing to take an equivocal position. Ambassador Draper, Archbishop Keane, former rector of the Catho- lic university, and Mgr. O'Connell, of Richmond, all used their influence to bring about Archbishop Ireland's desire, without success. But about four days ago, when the Spanish government realized that not one of the great nations of Europe would espouse her cause, the Spanish ambassador called on the pope and signified his wilHngness to accept the aid proffered by the American archbishop. Cardinal Rampolla immediately wired Archbishop Ireland to see President McKinley without delay." As there may be some who will consider this state- ment of fact as false, and an aspersion upon President McKinley, we quote his own words regarding this armis- tice and these very same negotiations entered into at that time to arrange it, from his proclamation of April II, 1898: "To this end I submitted, on the 27th ultimo, as a re- sult of much representation and correspondence, through the United States minister at Madrid, propositions to the Spanish government looking to an armistice until SPANISH SYMPATHIZERS PLOT. 199 October i (1898), for the negotiation of peace, with the good offices of the President." About this date the MinneapoHs Times said: "Arch- bishop Ireland begged President McKinley not to do anything that would lead to hostilities with Spain, a nation to which we owe so much, and whose dominant religion has so many adherents in this country." Arch- bishop Ireland was also reported by the daily press as saying: "The Catholic church takes no attitude here, either for or against Spain." The truthfulness of this latter statement seems cer- tain, as the vast majority of American Catholics were not in sympathy with Spain in that war. But of course the religious orders were. This is incon- trovertible. All their power and that of the world-wide Roman Hierarchy was brought to bear upon the gov- ernment at Washington to prevent that war for freedom, which the American conscience was calling for in behalf of the "Concentradoes" and patriots of Cuba, whose suf- ferings had horrified humanity. CHAPTER XXVIII. CONGRESS DECLARES WAR AGAINST SPAIN. But it was in vain that secret schemers plotted to defeat the will of the people; in vain had President Mc- Kinley appealed to his political henchmen and financial backers to help him turn the tide or stay the storm that threatened the foes of freedom. The people spoke irresistibly, as when the great New York conference of the M. E. church, in its session, April, 1898, passed this resolution: "We want no overtures from our government for set- 200 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. tlement of the burning questions confronting us as a nation, based upon propositions emanating from Rome. Let efforts emanating from that source exhaust them- selves in humanizing and civilizing Spain. American institutions will guard their own honor." Then at last President McKinley, finding his opposi- tion futile, in his proclamation of April ii, 1898, in speaking of intervention, said: "I speak not of forcible annexation, for that can- not be thought of. That by our code of morality would be criminal aggression." In which same message the President said: "The grounds for such intervention may be briefly summar- ized as follows: "First — In the cause of humanity and to put an end to the barbarities, bloodshed, starvation and horrible mis- eries now existing there and which the parties to the conflict are either unable or unwilling to stop or miti- gate." On the 19th of April, 1898, the United States Con- gress passed its joint resolution declaring: "First, that the people of the Island of Cuba are, and of a right ought to be, free and independent. (The language of the Dec- laration of Independence.) "Second — That it is the duty of the United States to demand, and the government of the United States does hereby demand, that the government of Spain at once relinquish its 'authority and government in the island of Cuba and withdraw its land and naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters.' "Third— That the President of the United States be and he hereby is directed and empowered to use the entire land and naval forces of the United States and to call into actual service of the United States the militia of the United States to such an extent as may be neces- sary to carry these resolutions into effect. WAR DECLARED AGAINST SPAIN. 201 'Tourth — That the United States hereby disclaims any disposition or intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdic- tion or control over said island, except for the pacifica- tion thereof, and asserts its determination when that is accomplished to leave the government and control of the island to its people." On April 25, 1898, war was formally declared by Con- gress against Spain, and this act was approved by the President on the same date. As late as October, 1899, President McKinley, in his address at the Peace Jubilee in Chicago declared: "The war with Spain was undertaken, not that the United States should increase its territory, but that the oppres- sion at our doors should be stopped. This noble senti- ment must continue to animate us, and we must give to the world a full demonstration of the sincerity of our purpose." In 1890 Mr. McKinley also said in his address at the New England dinner in New York city: "Human rights and constitutional privileges must not be for- gotten in the race for wealth and commercial supremacy. The government by the people must be by the people and not a few of the people. It must rest upon the free consent of the governed. Power, it must be remem- bered, which is secured by oppression, or usurpation, or by any form of injustice, is soon dethroned." These were noble words, uttered honestly, as we be- lieve, by President McKinley before he was buffeted about, as he has been since. When it was discovered that neither pope nor pre- late, president nor preacher, politician nor diplomat, friar nor financier, could then defeat the popular will, the subtle foes of freedom fell back with as good grace as possible to bide a better time for their secret pur- poses, and the leading papers published the following: 202 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. That they did all in their power to avert a war with Spain, ''the Most Catholic Nation," is known to all; and that they succeeded in holding the President's arm until the people rose in their might and demanded action, is not denied by men who are in touch with affairs in Wash- ington. But at last the President was compelled to yield to the people, and on- Saturday, April i6, 1898, the big daiHes said: "Washington, April 16. — Within a short time Arch- bishop Ireland will make a public reply to the attacks upon him. He will then proceed to Rome. The date on which this document is to be published has not been fixed. All that can be learned concerning it is the simple expression, 'The publication of this letter will be timely.' It will go into details and show how he became involved in the Cuban fight. "When the pope was begged by the queen regent to use his good offices for the preservation of peace, it be- came necessary that some one at W^ashington should be in a position to send him hourly bulletins, if necessary, of the attitude of the administration. It was determined that the close and cordial friendship which existed between Archbishop Ireland and President McKinley, joined to the fact that he is an eminent American citizen, made him the best possible representative of the pope. He re- ceived a formal letter from Cardinal RampoUa authoriz- ing him to speak for the pope in this Cuban crisis. This was presented to Judge Day, and semi-official relations were begun. The archbishop's mission has been to find and make practicable some plan of honorable peace. He has not yet given up hope of success. He desires to bring about a congress of nations. "Archbishop Ireland left last night on the midnight train for New York, accompanied by Professor Pace of the Catholic University. Mgr. Ireland will have several conferences with men in New York who are in touch with affairs, but he is convinced that any further efforts to induce the United States to postpone action, would be in vain. When the President sent his message to Con- THE OPPOSITION APOLOGIZES. 203 gress on Monday, Archbishop Ireland went to Baltimore, where he held a conference with Cardinal Gibbons about the situation. The two prelates held the same view — that everything possible had been done, and there would be no benefit derived from carrying the negotiations fur- ther. This view was communicated to the Vatican. Yes- terday a message was received expressing the profound regret of Pope Leo XIII. at the prospect of war, and containing a prayer that hostilities might yet be averted. Archbishop Ireland took this message as meaning that his mission had closed, and left the city. He may go to St. Paul from New York, or he may go to Washington en route to his home." And this dispatch was published in the Baltimore Sun : ''An intimate friend of Archbishop Ireland was in Wil- mington this afternoon, and said to one of the leading priests in this diocese that the church officials had infor- mation that the war between the United States and Spain would probably be ended within ten days, or in a short period. The church authorities learn, it is said, that the powers have decided to interfere with Spain to bring the war to an end, as the European countries do not want Spain to plunge further into bankruptcy. It was stated that the government at Washington understands this part of the situation, and that Havana will not be bombarded. Spain will agree to withdraw from Cuba after firing a few shots to make a show at war. The powers will guaran- tee the dynasty of Spain." Then came the secret deals, to defeat freedom, justice and right. We quote the following from a letter dated Rome, June II, 1898, to the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, discussing titles to Spanish possessions: "As pointed out to me to-day by a foreign diplomat accredited to the Vatican, and who has spent many years of his life in that capacity, there is no power, in the world, not even Italy itself, which from time immemorial has maintained such intimate relations with the papacy as 204 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. Spain. The latter has always been the chief ally of the Holy See in combatting the reformation, and, since the council of Trent, the theology and philosophy have been Spanish rather than Roman. Moreover, the three most influential members of the sacred college at the present moment, namely. Cardinals Rampolla, Jacobini and Mocenni, have all spent long years as nuncios in Madrid, and are avowedly pro-Spanish, while the favorite prelate in attendance on the Holy Father and the one who en- joys to the greatest degree his confidence and affection, is Mgr. Merry Del Val, the son of the Spanish ambassa- dor here. "The Pontiff thoroughly disapproved of the present lib- eral cabinet in Spain, and deplored the policy which it has pursued, as well as the neglect of which its mem- bers have been guilty in making proper preparations for the conflict with the United States. Premier Sagasta has never stood well here, owing to the fact of his being the grand master of Freemasonry in Spain, while the Liber- als, whenever in office, have incurred the animosity of the Holy See by introducing reforms that were antagonistic to the church. *'But the relations of the Holy Father with the queen regent remain as intimate as ever. He is in constant communication with her, and although since the rejec- tion by the United States of his offers of mediation, he has been forced to maintain an officially neutral attitude for fear of offending the influential Catholic element in the United States, yet he has never ceased for a moment to labor through his nuncios, and particularly through the Order of the Jesuits, for an intervention by the con- tinental powers in behalf of Spain. He is perfectly indif- ferent to the loss of Cuba, but desires at all costs to maintain the queen regent and her son on the throne of Spain, and likewise to secure the retention by Spain of the Philippine Islands, where the Roman Catholic church owns vast property. "The Holy Father takes the view that both the Philip- pine Islands and Cuba are, strictly speaking, the property of the papacy. Spain holding them from the Holy See as fiefs granted three centuries ago, and Leo XIII. PLOTTING FOR THE FRIARS. 205 claims that from the moment that Spain ceases to fulfill the conditions of the fief and is unable to retain control of these dependencies, the fief ceases to be in operation, and the dependencies revert to the Holy See. "While the Pontiff is not prepared to put forward any arguments on this score with regard to the Antilles, where the church interests are relatively unimportant, he is doing so in the case of the Philippines, and there is no doubt that were France or even Germany to secure from Spain a lease of the Philippines in return for an advance of the money needed to pay the war indemnity, which will doubtless be exacted by the United States, the theo- retical claim of either of these two leading powers might be strengthened by a transfer to them of the fiefs by the papacy." The foregoing evidence has been educed at this point in its chronological order, that all may realize the real reasons for the war against the Filipinos as we go farther into the history of affairs after the battle of Manila Bay and the surrender of Manila. As has already been shown by the evidence of Roman Catholic witnesses, the property held directly or indi- rectly by the Roman church or organizations of that church was something enormous, amounting to hun- dreds of millions of dollars worth, held against the will of the native Filipinos. If the people of the Philippines became possessors of their rights and came into control of their own govern- ment, then the possession of these vast estates would re- vert from the friars or Spanish priests, back to these peo- ple whom they had dispossessed of them. To defeat this just claim of the Filipino people, they must be beaten by fair means or foul, or both if need be, and for this purpose all possible efforts of the friars and their friends, political and religious, were exerted to the utmost. 206 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. Spain having supported them in th^ir scheme of spoli- ation they had in turn supported Spain in her tyranny and robbery until their rottenness had rendered her help- less either to defend herself or protect her priestly pro- teges, the friars. But for the further development of the facts we will wait till the records reveal them, turning briefly again to the evidence in the case as produced before the Paris peace commission and reported in the official records. CHAPTER XXIX. CALL FOR FILIPINO CO-OPERATION COMPLIED WITH. On page 337 of Senate Document No. 62 we find the following in a letter from Consul General Wildman to Mr. Moore of the state department at Washington, dated Hongkong, July 18, 1898: ''On the 3d of November (1897) Mr. F. Agoncilla, late minister of foreign affairs in Aguinaldo's cabinet, called upon me, and made a proposal which I transmitted to the state department in my dispatch No. 19, dated No- vember 3, 1897. In reply the state department instructed me 'to courteously decline to communicate with the de- partment further regarding the alleged mission/ I obeyed these instructions to the letter until the breaking out of the war, when, after consultation with Admiral Dewey, I received a delegation from the insurgent junta. * * * At this time their president, Aguinaldo, was in Singapore negotiating through Consul General Pratt with Admiral Dewey for his return. "On April 27th, in company with Consul O. F. Will- iams, we received another delegation. . . . We agreed on behalf of Dewey to allow two of their number to accompany the fleet to Manila. Consequently on the same day I took in the tug Fame, Alejandrino and Gar- CONSUL WILLIAMS' EVIDENCE. 207 chitorena, accompanied by Mr. Sandico, to the Olympia in Mirs Bay." We wish to remind our readers again that this is the General Alejandrino to whom Mr. Foreman refers on page 462 of Senate Document No. 62, part 2, as **an- other chief * * * Alejandrino. He had fled, but re- turned, and is one of the leaders now" — that being Octo- ber, 1898. He is also the same general who wrote Senators Hoar and Pettigrew on April 12, 1900, confirming Aguinaldo's statements of promises made the Filipinos concerning their future freedom and independence, which Admiral Dewey, following his usual line of defense, denies in toto. He it was who with Aguinaldo organized the rebellion in 1896 and then returned to renew it with irresistible vigor in 1898. On page 325 of Senate Document No. 62, in a letter written on board the U. S. S. Baltimore under date of May 4, 1898, Consul Williams wrote: "I have the honor briefly to report to you concerning the battle of Manila Bay, fought on May i, 1898." In his next jetter of May 12, he stated, on page 328: "Expulsion of Spaniards, naval, civil, military and clerics, will remove all discord and danger, and civil government, crude in the beginning but better than the present, will be easy and well re- ceived, while native priests, of which there are many, can fully and with perfect acceptability meet all religious re- quirements so far as present established religion is con- cerned." In this same letter, on page 327, Consul Williams states: "An insurgent leader. Major Gonzales, reported to me last week on the Olympia, that they had 37,000 troops under arms, good and bad, surrounding Manila, endeavoring to co-operate with us. In the main, they 208 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. are poorly armed, but have about 6,600 rifles taken from the Spaniards. They have captured the entire railroad line and the River Pasig, thus cutting off supply lines, while we, by cutting off supply by land and sea, can soon starve Manila into surrender." On pages 341 and 342 of Senate Document No. 62 is the follov/ing letter from Consul General Pratt of Sing- apore to Secretary of State Day: ''Singapore, April 28, 1898. — Sir: I have the honor to report that I sent you on the 27th instant, and confirmed in my dispatch, No. 211 of that date, a telegram, which, deciphered, read as follows: '''Secretary of State, Washington: General Aguin- aldo gone my instance Hongkong arrange with Dewey co-operation insurgents Manila. Pratt.' "The facts are these: On the evening of Saturday, the 23d instant, I was confidentially informed of the arrival here, incognito, of the supreme leader of the Philippine insurgents. General Emilio Aguinaldo, by H. W. Bray, an English gentleman of high standing, who, after fifteen years' residence as a merchant and planter in the Philip- pines, had been compelled by the disturbed condition of things resul|,ing from Spanish misrule, to abandon his property and leave there, and from whom I had pre- viously obtained much valuable information for Com- modore Dewey regarding fortifications, coal deposits, etc., at different points in the islands. Being aware of the great prestige of General Aguinaldo with the insurgents, and that no one, either at home or abroad, could exert over them the same influence and control that he could, I determined at once to see him, and, at my request, a secret interview was accordingly arranged for the follow- ing morning, Sunday, the 24th, in which, besides Gen- eral Aguinaldo, were only present the general's trusted advisers and Mr. Bray, who acted as interpreter. "At this interview, after learning from General Aguin- aldo the state of and object sought to be obtained by the present insurrectionary movement, which, though absent from the Philippines, he was still directing, I took it upon CONSUL-GENERAL WILDMAN'S EVIDENCE 209 myself, whilst explaining that I had no authority to speak for the government, to point out the danger of continuing independent action at this stage, and having convinced him of the expediency of co-operating with our fleet then at Hongkong, and obtained his willingness to proceed thither and confer with Commodore Dewey to that end, should the latter so desire, I telegraphed the commodore the same day as follows, through our con- sul-general at Hongkong: '' 'Aguinaldo, insurgent leader, here. Will come Hongkong; arrange with commodore for general co- operation insurgents Manila if desired. Pratt.' "The commodore's reply reading thus : Tell Aguinaldo come soon as possible. Dewey.' "I received it late that night and at once communicated to General Aguinaldo, who, with his aid-de-camp and private secretary, all under assumed names, I succeeded in getting off by the British steamer Malacca, which left here Tuesday, the 26th. * * * 'The general impressed me as a man of intelligence, ability and courage and worthy of the confidence that had been placed in him. I think that in arranging for his direct co-operation with the commander of our forces, I have prevented possible conflict of action and facili- tated the work of occupying and administering the Phil- ippines. If this course of mine meets with the govern- ment's approval, as I trust it may, I shall be satisfied. To Mr. Bray, however, I consider there is due some special recognition for most valuable services rendered. How that recognition can best be made I leave to you to decide. I have, etc., E. Spencer Pratt, United States Consul-General. .On page 337 of the same document is a letter which General Wildman wrote from Hongkong, in which he stated : ''On May 2 Aguinaldo arrived in Hongkong and im- mediately called on me. It was May 16 before 1 could obtain permission from Admiral Dewey to allow Agui- naldo to go by the United States ship McCulloch, and 210 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. I put him on board in the night, so as to save any com- plications with the local government. Immediately on the arrival of Aguinaldo at Cavite he issued a proclama- tion, which I had outUned for him before he left, for- bidding pillage, and making it a criminal offense to mal- treat neutrals. He, of course, organized a government of which he was dictator, an absolutely necessary step if he hoped to maintain control over the natives, and from that date until the present time he has been uninter- ruptedly successful in the field and dignified and just as the head of his government. According to his own statements to me by letter, he has been approached by both the Spaniards and the Germans, and has had tempt- ing offers made him by the Catholic Church. He has been watched very closely by Admiral Dewey, Consul Williams and his own junta here in Hongkong, and noth- ing of moment has occurred which would lead any one to believe that he was not carrying out to the letter the promises made to me in this consulate. The insurgents are fighting for freedom from the Spanish rule, and rely upon the well-known sense of justice that controls all the actions of our government as to their future. ''In conclusion, I wish to put myself on record as stat- ing that the insurgent government of the Philippines can- not be dealt with as though they were North American Indians, willing to be removed from one reservation to another, at the whim of their masters. If the United States decides not to retain the Philippine Islands, its 10,000,000 people will demand independence, and the attempt of any foreign nation to obtain territory or coal- ing stations will be resisted with the same spirit with which they fought the Spaniards. "I have the honor, etc., Rounseville Wildman, "Consul-General." We quote Admiral Dewey's account of these occur- rences as given to the first Philippine Commission and repeated in their preliminary official report: "The following memorandum on this subject has been furnished the commission by Admiral Dewey: ADMIRAL DEWEY'S EVIDENCE. 211 " 'Memorandum of Relations With Aguinaldo. " *On April 24, 1898, the following cipher dispatch was received at Hongkong from Mr. E. Spencer Pratt, United States consul-general at Singapore: "Aguinaldo, insurgent leader, here. Will come Hongkong; arrange with commodore for general co-operation insurgents Ma- nila if desired. Telegraph. Pratt." " *On the same day Commodore Dewey telegraphed Mr. Pratt: "Tell Aguinaldo come soon as possible," the necessity for haste being due to the fact that the squad- ron had been notified by the Hongkong government to leave those waters by the following day. The squadron left Hongkong on the morning of the 25th and Mirs bay on the 27th. Aguinaldo did not leave Singapore until the 26th, and so did not arrive in Hongkong in time to have a conference with the admiral. " Tt had been reported to the commodore as early as March i, by the United States consul at Manila and oth- ers, that the Filipinos had broken out into insurrection against the Spanish authority in the vicinity of Manila, and on March 30 Mr. Williams had telegraphed: "Five thousand rebels armed in camp near city. Loyal to us in case of war." " 'Upon the arrival of the squadron at M'anila it was found that there was no insurrection to speak of, and it was accordingly decided to allow Aguinaldo to come to Cavite on board the McCulloch. He arrived with thir- teen of his staff on May 19, and immediately came on board the Olympia to call on the commander in chief, after which he was allowed to land at Cavite and organize an army. This was done with the purpose of strength- ening the United States forces and weakening those of the enemy. No alliance of any kind was entered into with Aguinaldo, nor was any promise of independence made to him, then or at any other time.' " The following is a copy of the famous proclamation issued by Aguinaldo when he first landed at Cavite. Consul-General Wildman and Consul Williams both bear testimony to the fact that he enforced it faith- fully throughout. 212 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. We have already quoted these statements and those of others to the same effect and so will not repeat them save Mr. Wildman's that he '^outlined" this proclamation. "FILIPINOS. *The great North American nation, a nation of true liberty and therefore desirous of the liberty of our peo- ple, oppressed and subjugated by the tyranny and despotism of our rulers, has just extended to the in- habitants here its protection, as powerful as it is be- yond doubt disinterested, considering us to be pos- sessed of sufficient civilization and aptitude to govern for ourselves this unhappy land; and in order to con- tinue to enjoy this so high opinion which we deserve at the hands of the great North American nation, we ought to detest all those acts which are at variance with this opinion. Such acts are: Pillage, theft and every sort of disregard for personal and property rights. With a view to avoiding international complication during the period of our campaign I decree the following: ''Article i. The lives and property of all strangers shall be respected, including under this title the Chinese, as well as all Spaniards who neither directly nor indi- rectly have assisted in making war upon us. "Art. 2. The lives and property of those of the enemy who shall lay down their arms shall likewise be respect- ed. "Art. 3. All hospitals and ambulances, together with the persons and effects (including stores) therein, shall be respected unless hostility be shown. "Art. 4. Those who disobey the orders given in the three articles foregoing shall be tried by summary court, and, if their disobedience shall cause assassinations, fires, thefts or violations, shall be shot. "Given in Cavite, May 24, 1898. [Seal.] "Emilio Aguinaldo^." "Special cable dispatch to the Chicago Inter Ocean, Mav 19, 1898: "Madrid, May 18 (1898).— It Is officially declared that reforms were offered to Aguinaldo and the insurgent MONKS AGREED TO GO. 213 leaders in the Philippines, who submitted to the terms of the government, but the difficulty was in the expulsion of the monks, which is the principal point with the na- tives. The difficulty was increased by the powerful re- ligious influence exercised by the monks. The gov- ernment was embarrassed and had a parley with the supe- riors of the monks, who consented to withdraw them from the colony. "The monks are aware that if the Americans take possession of the Philippines their exploitation of the islands will end, and they therefore hope now to save what is possible, and demand compensation from the Spanish government." CHAPTER XXX. DECLARATION OF PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE AND REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT. On page 329 of Senate document No. 62, under date of June 16, 1898, is a letter from Consul Williams to Sec- retary of State Day, in whicli he states: "I have the honor to report that since our squadron de- stroyed the Spanish fleet on May i, the insurgent forces have been most active and uniformly successful in their many encounters with the crown forces of Spain. Gen- eral Emilio Aguinaldo, the insurgent chief, who was de- ported late in 1897, returned recently to Cavite and re- sumed direction of insurgent forces. . . . The in- surgents have defeated the Spaniards at all points ex- cept at a fort near Malate, and hold not only North Lu- zon to the suburbs of Manila, but Batangas Province; also the bay coast, entire, save the city of Manila, While the Spaniards cruelly and barbarously slaughter Fili- pinos taken in arms, and often non-combatants, women and children, the insurgent victors, following American example, spare life, protect the helpless, and nurse, feed and care for Spaniards taken prisoners and for Spanish wounded as kindly as they care for the wounded fallen 214 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. from their own ranks. . . . Last Sunday, 12th, they held a council to form a provisional government." On that day they declared Filipino independence. The day after the Philippine declaration of independ- ence the following dispatch was made public through the press: ''London, June 13 (1898). — The Rome correspondent of the Standard says: Owing to the serious news from the Philippines the Pope wired the Queen Regent of Spain placing his services at her disposal if she consid- ered that the time had arrived for the intervention of the powers in favor of Spain. The Queen Regent in reply telegraphed her thanks, saying that at an opportune mo- ment she would feel the Pope's offer to be precious." A Madrid dispatch said: *'Senor Romero Giron, the Spanish Minister of Colonies, in the course of a recent interview, expressed the opinion that nothing short of a miracle could save Manila." This was before a single American soldier had been shipped to the Philippines. On June 23rd, 1898, after the declaration of indepen- dence and a dictatorial form of government, the follow- ing messages, to be seen upon pages 94 to 96 of Senate document No. 208 of the 56th Congress, proclaimed a revolutionary government, and especial attention is called to the first message from Aguinaldo as president of the revolutionary government following: MESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINE REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT. *Tf it is true — and it is true — that a political revolution, well conceived, is the violent means which a people em- ploys in order to recover the sovereignty which nat- urally belongs to it and which has been usurped and trampled upon by a tyrannical and arbitrary govern- ment, then the Philippine revolution could not have been AGUINALDO'S PRESIDENTIAL MESSAGE. 215 more just, for the people have had recourse to it after exhausting all peaceful means counseled by reason and experience. "The former kings of Castile bound themselves to re- gard the Philippines as a sister nation, associated with Spain in perfect unison of views and interests, and by the constitution of 18 12 promulgated at Cadiz on the occa- sion of the war of Spanish independence, these islands were represented in the Spanish Cortes; but the interests of the monastic corporations, which have always met with unconditional support from the Spanish Govern- ment, have taken from them this sacred duty, and the Philippines have been excluded from the Spanish con- stitution and its people left to the mercy of the discretion- ary and arbitrary powers of the general government. "Under such circumstances the people clamored for justice, and asked of the mother country the recognition and restitution of their secular rights by means of re- forms which would gradually assimilate them with Spain. But their voices were promptly drowned and the reward of their abnegation was exile, martyrdom and death. The religious corporations, with whose interests — al- ways opposed to those of the Philippine people — the Spanish Government has identified itself, jeered at these claims and answered, with the knowledge and consent of that same government, that the liberty of Spain had cost blood. "What other recourse was there left to the people to re- cover their lost rights? They had no other means but force, and, convinced of this, they have had recourse to revolution. "And now they no longer limit their claims to the as- similation with the political constitution of Spain, but ask for definite separation from her; they are fighting for 2l6 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. their independence, firmly convinced that the time has come when they can and must govern themselves. '*So they have constituted a revolutionary government, based upon Mrise and just laws, adapted to the abnormal conditions through which they were passing, and at the same time preparing them to become a republic. Taking reason as the only guide for their actions, justice as the only end, and honorable work as the only means, they call upon their Philippine sons, without distinction of class, to unite firmly together for the purpose of forming a society of nobility, not nobility of birth or pompous titles, but of work and personal merit of each one — a free society where there shall be no egotism and personal politics that crush and annihilate, no envy and favoritism that debase, no bragging and charlatanry that make ri- diculous. ''And it could not be otherwise; a people which has given proofs of valor and long suffering in time of trouble and danger, and of industry and diligence in time of peace, is not intended for slavery; such a people is called to be great, to be one of the strongest arms of Providence to direct the destinies of humanity; such a people has sufficient resources and energy to free itself from the ruin and annihilation into which the Spanish Government has plunged it, and to claim a modest, but humble seat in the concert of free nations. ''Emilio Aguinaldo. "Given at Cavite, June 23, 1898." AGUINALDO'S PROCLAMATION OF JUNE 23, ESTAB- LISHING THE REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT. "Don Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy, president of the revo- lutionary government of the Philippines and general-in- chief of its army. ADMIRAL DEWEY'S REPORT. 217 'This government desiring to demonstrate to the Phil- ippine people that one of its ends is to combat with a firm hand the inveterate vices of the Spanish administra- tion, substituting for personal luxury and that pompous ostentation which have made it a mere matter of rou- tine, cumbrous and slow in its movements, another ad- ministration more modest, simple, and prompt in per- forming the public service, I decree as follows : ''Chapter i. — Of the Revolutionary Government. Article i. — The dictatorial government will be entitled hereafter the revolutionary government, whose object is to struggle for the independence of the Philippines, until all nations, including the Spanish, shall expressly recog- nize it, and to prepare the country so that a true republic may be established. 'The dictator shall be entitled hereafter president of the revolutionary government." On June 27 Admiral Dewey telegraphed to Washing- ton as follows: "Aguinaldo, insurgent leader, with thirteen of his staff, arrived May 19, by permission, on Nanshan. Es- tablished self Cavite, outside arsenal, under the protec- tion of our guns, and organized his army. I have had several conversations with him, generally of a personal nature. Consistently I have refrained from assisting him in any way with the force under my command, and on several occasions I have declined requests that I should do so, telling him the squadron could not act until the arrival of the United States troops. At the same time I have given him to understand that I consider insur- gents as friends, being opposed to a common enemy. He has gone to attend a meeting of insurgent leaders for the purpose of forming a civil government. Aguinaldo has acted independently of the squadron, but has kept me advised of his progress, which has been wonderful. I have allowed to pass by water recruits, arms and ammu- nition, and to take such Spanish arms and ammunition from the arsenal as he needed. Have advised frequently to conduct the war humanely, which he has done in- variably. My relations with him are cordial, but I am 2i8 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. not in his confidence. The United States has not been bound in any way to assist insurgents by any act or promises, and he is not, to my knowledge, committed to assist us. I beUeve he expects to capture Manila without my assistance, but doubt ability, they not yet having many guns. In my opinion these people are far superior in their intelligence and more capable of self-govern- ment than the natives of Cuba, and I am familiar with both races." From this message of Admiral Dewey's it seems that Aguinaldo came back to Cavite by his permission, and established himself under our guns, and organized his army, and went to form a civil government, with his knowledge if not his consent, certainly with his acquies- cence, if not approval, as appears from the facts in the case. Admiral Dewey admits conferences with and frequent- ly advising Aguinaldo; also allowing arms, ammunition and recruits to pass by water, and permitting him to take arms and ammunition from the arsenal, captured from the Spaniards, and of no use to us, and acknowl- edges that his progress "has been wonderful," and that he has conducted the war humanely, ''invariably," in accordance with his advice, and closes by commending the Filipinos as capable of that self-government just instituted. And yet, strange to state, in answer to the assertions of Mr. Bray, who acted as interpreter for Consul-Gen- eral Pratt and Aguinaldo, after introducing them at Singapore, who states that independence was then prom- ised the Filipinos in accordance with Admiral Dewey's directions, he now says: "I never had any dealings with Emilio Aguinaldo." WONDERFUL VICTORIES. 219 CHAPTER XXXI. THE FILIPINOS' VALIANT AND VICTORIOUS FIGHT FOR FREEDOM. Over a year after the events which followed the ar- rival of Aguinaldo with wonderful rapidity, Mr. John T. McCutcheon wrote for the Chicago Record of June 24, 1899, the following beautiful tribute to Filipino patriot- ism and valor, in a reminiscent mood, which it might be well for some self-styled "patriotic" Americans to peruse thoughtfully : ''Special Correspondence of the Chicago Record. ''Manila, June 24. — About June i, 1898, only a week after Aguinaldo had begun the reorganization of his rag- ged, poorly armed troops, the sound of firing came float- ing out from the land near Bacoor to where the Ameri- can warships were anchored off Cavite. Throughout the entire afternoon the long, steady roll of volley firing was sustained almost continuously, with frequent punctua- tions from heavy guns. The low fringe of trees lining the shore concealed the battle from the view of those on the ships, but we could see the white smoke of the can- nons and rifles filtering up through the tree tops and hanging over the battlefield like a great curtain. From the terrific volley firing and the long duration of the en- gagement we judged that a battle on a grand scale was being fought, and I remember that we felt blue and gloomy because we were convinced that our friends, the insurgents, must be suffering fearfully before the superi- or arms and forces of Spain. In the evening, after the fighting had been raging for hours, there came a cessa- tion, and when darkness fell the region of the conflict was silent and peaceful. "The following day we called on Aguinaldo at his head- quarters in Cavite. There was nothing in his manner to indicate that his troops had suffered an overwhelming reverse. He greeted us with the emotionless courtesy so characteristic of him and calmly informed us through his aid-de-camp, Mr. Leyba, that his soldiers had de- 220 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. feated the Spaniards and had captured the bridge over the Zapote river. He had not yet received full reports, but he had heard unofficially that his army had suffered a very sHght loss, while the Spaniards had suffered heav- ily. This news was almost incredible to those of us who had seen what an undisciplined, motley crowd of natives composed what he called his army and we were inclined to doubt his claim to victory. Nevertheless we felt a re- lief and pleasure in hearing that our friends had beaten our enemies, the Spaniards. ''All during the week following there was constant evi- dence of the strife that was being waged between Cavite and Malate. Aguinaldo never appeared to have full re- ports, but he invariably proclaimed the victory of his own forces. Imus, Bacoor, Las Pinas, Paranaque, were cap- tured in less than a week, notwithstanding the fact that the Spaniards had splendid arms and ammunition in un- limited quantities, supported by five mountain batter- ies and rapid-fire guns. Cavite Viejo was still held by a Spanish garrison, but the insurgents quickly closed in on the town, and the Spaniards, 278 in number, were com- pelled to take refuge in the Church of the Madeleine. This building was fortified with breastworks of stone, the windows and doors were blocked with immense masses of rock and earth and the Spaniards prepared for a siege. About 200 insurgents under command of Aguinaldo's aid, Leyba, drew in close to the church, and whenever a Spaniard showed his head they fired a volley at him. Over on the walls of Cavite the insurgents were oper- ating an ancient cannon that was mounted on the south- west bastion. Shells were thrown across Bacoor bay, and, while many of them fell short, at least two struck the old church. The siege was a memorable one, al- though it lasted only eight days. Three Spaniards were killed, and had to be buried just outside the church door and within the improvised stone barricade. Their drink- ing water became exhausted, and they had to dig a well in the interior of the building, which afforded them a brackish, half-salty relief from thirst. From the begin- ning there was no hope for the Spaniards. If they at- tempted to escape by sea the Americans would snap SPANIARDS SURRENDER TO FILIPINOS. 221 them up. If they stayed in the church they would starve, for even then they were eating the last caribao that had been taken in the building with them at the beginning of the siege. To fight their way to Manila along the beach would have meant their extermination, so on June 7 they surrendered, arms and all. "I went over to see the surrender, and it was an incon- gruous spectacle to see nearly 300 well-uniformed but unkempt white men march out of the church between the bobtail and ragtag ranks of natives Hned up in the street in front of the church. ''Among the Spaniards were many handsome officers wearing handsome uniforms, and their humiliation must have been as bitter as a proud Castilian could possibly suffer. "Over in Cavite the calm, passionless statements of great victories that Aguinaldo gave us were being sub- stantiated every day, for hundreds and hundreds of Spanish soldiers were being marched in and placed in prison. Big, splendid-looking Spanish generals and governors were tramped in over the San Roque cause- way by the fattered, undisciplined ununiformed bands of insurgents. The incongruity of the thing was as pa- thetic as it was incredible. "Closely following the remarkable insurgent successes in Cavite Province, where the whole district had been captured in eight days, came stories of other successful operations in Pampanga Province. Macabebe and San Fernando were captured, and the great Spanish general, Monet, fled in terror to Manila. Over 1,000 Spanish sol- diers had been taken prisoners and their arms given out to natives as quickly as possible. The insurgents were busy everywhere. The Spanish gunboat Leyte, which had filed from Subig bay on April 29, and had taken ref- uge in the Pampanga river, tried to escape to Manila with 185 Spaniards on board and with three cascoes of Spanish soldiers in tow. "The cascoes went aground and the Leyte was captured by the Americans before reaching Manila. "Our respect for the insurgents' prowess had grown a great deal, for by June 30 they had taken almost every 222 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. province in Luzon, with the exception of isolated garri- sons, and were hammering away at the doors of Manila. We felt considerable pride in their conquests, for natur- ally our sympathies at that time were with them as against the Spaniards. We didn't foresee at the time when we listened gloomily to the sounds of battle at Za- pote bridge that in a year our own forces would be try- ing to capture the bridge themselves, or that the flower of our army would be pitted against the tattered ranks of our friend Aguinaldo. Or that we, like Aguinaldo, would be telling the same tales of great victories in which our losses were slight and those of our enemy enormous. "We didn't imagine that it would take us months to accomplish what the ragged hordes of natives had done in less than four weeks, or that Aguinaldo, who amused us, would be keeping the best we breed exceedingly busy in less than a year's time. 'The whole situation is strange, and it struck me very forcibly when I waited the morning of June 13, 1898, for the storming of the Zapote bridge by our own troops to begin, while my former friend, General Noriel, was massing his forces on the opposite bank of the river to prevent, if possible, the fall of the strongest position in Cavite Province." In a letter dated Manila, April 12, 1900, to be found in the Chicago Record of August 31, 1900, Mr.McCutcheon quotes Admiral Dewey as saying to him personally at this time in June, 1898, in speaking of the insurgents fighting then: 'They're saving us lots of American sol- diers in clearing out that country over there." And they did it at his request, yet he says they were not our allies. So it was that the friars fell into the hands of their infuriated but forbearing victims, from whom they found it impossible to escape, until the Treaty of Peace drawn up at Paris interposed. Then "Protestant" America promptly did what "Cath- olic" Spain had failed or refused to do, sending an Amer- A PITIFUL APPEAL. 2.22^ ican army to the Philippines to crush the native FiHpino Catholics and let loose the Spanish friars upon their former outraged victims, in accordance with the Spanish treaty. Should any one suspect this to be a Protestant treatise we would state that it is written to protest against American Protestant, as well as Spanish friar out- rages. To illustrate, from the Minneapolis Times of June 17, 1899, quoting from a letter by Martin E. Tew, of the Thirteenth Minnesota Volunteers, written in Lu- zon, we give this scene in a deserted Philippine city: ''Every inhabitant had left Norzagaray, and no article of value remained behind. The place had probably been the home of 1,500 or 2,000 people, and was pleasantly situated on a clear mountain stream in which a bath was most refreshing. It was not a city of apparent wealth, but in many houses were found evidences of education. In a building which probably had been used as a school- house were found a number of books, and a variety of exercises written by childish hands. Pinned to a cruci- fix was a paper upon which was written the following in Spanish: '* 'American Soldiers: How can you hope mercy from Him when you are slaughtering a people fighting for their liberty, and driving us from the homes which are justly ours?' "On a table was a large globe, which did not give Minneapolis, but had San Pablo (St. Paul) as the capital of Minnesota. On a rude blackboard were a number of sentences, which indicated that the teacher had recently been giving lessons in the history of the American rev- olution." 224 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. CHAPTER XXXII. THE CAUSES OF THE CONFLICT. Upon page 595 of Senate Document No. 62, part 2, of the Records of the Fifty-fifth Congress, is the following statement of fact which was presented to the Paris Peace Commission as evidence, having appeared in an article in the Fortnightly Review of July, 1898, written by Lucy M. J. Garnett: *'Both the great island possessions in the West and East Indies respectively, which are now the seats of war between Spain and the United States, were, for a time during last century, possessions of the British empire. Havana and Manila were both captured by Great Britain in 1762, and Cuba and the Philippines occupied. A very rare and interesting plain narrative of the capture of Manila was published by Rear Admiral Cornish and Brigadier-General Draper in reply to accusations of in- fringement of the capitulations made against these offi- cers by Spaniards. Their own allegations are sufficiently strong: 'Through the whole of the above transactions the Spaniards, by evasions, avoided complying with the ca- pitulations in every one respect except in bringing the money from the Misericordia and Ardentacora (ships), which it was out of their power to secrete. They base- fully and ungratefully took up arms against us after hav- ing their lives given them. They preached publicly in their churches rebellion, etc. At the peace of Paris, however (1763), which concluded the seven years' war, Canada, Louisiana, and various islands in the West In- dies having been ceded by France, and Florida and Minorca by Spain, Great Britain on her part ceded to the latter power Cuba and the Philippines. *'Yet there is still to be seen — or was during my resi- dence at Manila — at the mouth of the Fasig, and under the ramparts, a dilapidated brick and stucco monument with an inscription celebrating the expulsion of the invad- ing British by the noble and patriotic Don Simon de An- THE CAUSES OF THE CONFLICT. 22$ da, an inscription which afforded great amusement to British naval officers visiting this port." It is also an item of interest in this connection, which appears in certain accounts of those occurrences, that the Spaniards promised to pay $5,000,000 as ransom money upon the recession of Manila, but that amount still re- mains unpaid. Upon pages 602 and 603 of Senate Document No. 62, part 2, of the Records of the Fifty-fifth Congress, this evidence continues: "The Philippines being, according to the plain narrative, 'maintained by the crown of Spain at the request of the church for propagating the Chris- tian faith among the Indians,' the influence of the church has naturally here been always paramount. An arch- bishop at Manila, with various bishops in the provinces, constitute the hierarchy, and the spiritual needs of the people are administered to by a vast body of friars of all orders, and secular clergy, both European and native. The Jesuits also occupied numerous important posts in the archipelago previous to their expulsion from Spain in 1767, and are now again re-established in many parts, and particularly in Mindanao." In this connection, we introduce the testimony of the Roman Catholic bishop of Oviedo, Spain, as to the orig- inal cause of the trouble between native Filipino Cath- olics and foreign Spanish friars, believing it may awaken honest sympathy among, American, if not all Catholics, for their Filipino fellow Catholics, in their struggle for the recognition of their civil and religious rights. We quote his statement as found in Vol. 21, upon pages 518 and 519, of the Missionary Review, of July, 1898: "It would be difficult just now to point out the cause of the separatists' uprising in the Philippines, and still more to indicate the remedy. It was the idea that there once 226 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. was, of granting the colonization of Mindanao to a for- eign syndicate that led the Jesuit fathers to occupy that island. On coming they were offered the parishes, which had been founded and administered by the Fran- ciscans, and the latter in compensation received some liv- ings in the archbishopric of Manila, which had been in the possession of native clergy ever since the extinction of the Jesuit order in the last century. The colonization of Mindanao did not take place, as it was not right it should either. Then the transfer of the beneficies in question has been effected, and is being effected very slowly. And it is in this wise that from the sore that was opened then has been flowing blood for the last thirty- six years." In short, according to the authority of this Roman Catholic Spanish bishop, himself naturally in sympathy with his own church, countrymen and government, it was the wresting of the parishes which had been in the possession of native Filipino priests since the last cen- tury from them, and turning them over to Spanish priests of the religious orders which has caused the rupture be- tween the native priests and people and foreign friars in the Philippines, resulting in the revolution which has swept the Spanish power from the islands. But turning back to page 603 of Document No. 62, we find the following: *The great majority of cures are served by Spanish friars, who, after their arrival in the country, remain for some years in the monasteries in order to complete their studies, and in particular to learn the special dialect of the district for which they are de- signed. Spanish secular priests also occupy some of the canonries in Manila and the interior, and a certain num- ber of native priests, educated in the seminaries of the orders, fill the less important curacies. "The progressive party in the islands are opposed to this predominance of the monastic orders, who, as a THE CAUSES OF THE CONFLICT. 22y body, prefer the interests of the government to those of their parishioners, and demand their retirement to their monasteries, or to mission work, leaving the parish churches to be served by the secular Spanish and native clergy. The authorities are naturally opposed to such a change, as they have always found the co-operation of the friars essential in securing obedience to enactments afifecting their flocks." "During the British occupation of Manila in 1762, 'the priests and friars publicly exhorted rebellion, and preached it meritorious to take up arms and destroy us.' At the beginning of the campaign against the Moham- medan Sultan of Sulu in 1876, when it was found nec- essary to increase the native army, recourse was had to the eloquence of the friars in order to obtain willing and enthusiastic recruits. And there can not be the slightest doubt that at the present moment a crusade is being strenuously preached against the invading 'infidels,' 'state- ments calculated to excite the fiercest and most fanatical hatred being unscrupulously made from the pulpit to the ignorant masses.' Then follow these forceful words, prompted by no Protestant partizanship evidently: "Roman Catholicism is undoubtedly the form of Chris- tianity best calculated to impress native races." Showing very evident sympathy for that faith. It seems that Admiral Dewey discovered this same danger and difficulty in 1898, according to various au- thentic accounts. The St. Louis Globe-Democrat of June 2, 1898, published the following: "Washington, D. C, June i, 1898. — An official with Admiral Dewey writes a friend in the navy department that the admiral astonished a high church official out there at Manila very much recently. 'The Bishop (Archbishop) of Manila,' so the letter runs, 'had been circulating pastorals, urging his people to rise up and kill 'los hereticos' (the heathen Americans), who would not permit the sacraments of matrimony or 228 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. the last rites for the dying to be administered. Dewey waited until he could fix some of these stories definitely upon the reverend Ananias, and then wrote him a note, in which the admiral expressed his astonishment that an archbishop could so far forget and debase his holy office as to be guilty of lying, and lying so basely. If he heard any more of these falsehoods from his rever- ence or any of the minor clergy, he, Dewey, would turn his guns loose upon the archbishop's palace at Cavite and the Cathedral at Manila, and level both to the ground. 'False teachers shall not disgrace the holy name they pretend to reverence by uttering the most absolute false- hoods in the name of God.' "A French priest, who has a brother that is a chaplain in the U. S. navy, undertook to carry the note to the archbishop. In three days there came back a most ab- ject apology to the American commandant, in which the holy man denied that he had ever said or thought the wicked things imputed to him. In reply, Dewey simply sent the archbishop his own pastoral letter that he had somehow obtained that contained the very words and ex- pressions the other had sworn he never thought of, much less used. This ended the correspondence. But the archbishop was snuffed out like a tallow dip, with a sizz and a very bad smell." He seems to have been sizzling ever since and is stiH about as odoriferous as ever, if not a little more so at this late date. As the writer was anxious to obtain an original copy of this pastoral, he wrote to Lieutenant J. W. Crawford, of the United States navy, acting as secretary to Admiral Dewey, requesting him to let him know if this story was true and where he could get a copy of the pastoral. The following reply came promptly: "I know nothing personally of this matter, but have THE CAUSES OF THE CONFLICT. 229 spoken of it to the admiral, who says there is not a bit of truth in the newspaper story, a copy of which you sent. "J. W. Crawford, ''Lieutenant U. S. Navy, Secretary to the Admiral. "July 27, 1900." As we wish to be perfectly fair in this matter, we pre- sent the admiral's reply along with the facts in the case as we find them, believing our readers will be able to form a fair opinion from both of these presentations of the true inwardness of this situation. . On May 18, 1898, the following Associated Press dis- patch appeared in the leading dailies of the United States: "The Archbishop of Manila, in a pastoral issued on the 8th instant, said: 'Christians, defend your faith against heretics, who raise an insuperable barrier to immortal souls, enslave the people, abolish crosses from ceme- teries, forbid pastors to perform baptism, matrimony or funeral rites, or to administer consolation or grant abso- lution.' " lie denounced both Americans and British as heretical scum, thieves, assassins and violators of women in this connection, and a London dispatch, dated June 18, 1898, stated: "The Hongkong correspondent of the Daily Mail says: The Archbishop of Manila, Mgr. No- zaleda, announces that he has had a communication from God, who has promised him that the "Yankee Pigs" will be driven out of the island, and that "Spain will be trium- phant in the end." On page 347 of Senate Document No. 62 is the follow- ing quotation from the Singapore Free Press of June i, 1898: "The Archbishop has assured the people that four Spanish battleships are on their way out, and that God has informed him that in the next engagement the armies of the most Christian Spain will be victorious." The following special press dispatch is interesting: "Vancouver, B. C, June 8. — According to advices re- 230 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. ceived here by steamer to-day, on the day before the bat- tle at Manila the inhabitants evidently expected it. A procession visited the governor-general's residence, car- rying Spanish flags, and presented addresses offering their lives and all they possessed for the service of Spain. The governor-general made a long speech in reply, in which he said: " 'I cannot, senors, help weeping at the situation in which our poor and "beloved Spain finds herself. You know, from the proclamations that have been addressed to the country that a nation with iniquitous proceeding, outraging all international law, using evil devices and felonious, taking advantage of our misfortunes, and ex- hausting the patience of all Spaniards with its perfidious machinations, has provoked us to war. Spain will show the world that she enters upon the fight to conquer or die. No Spaniard born will ever consent to see the per- nicious and iniquitous American desecrating with his footsteps this beautiful land. The hour to fight has ar- rived. To arms each, to post, trusting that the God of victories will concede one more victory to the cry of "VivaEspano!"' "The Catholic Archbishop then arose and said: " The North Americans are heretics and know not God, accepting every kind of religion and false doctrine. They think to violate our religion and our laws. If you trust in God and the Virgin of the Rosary, this will never be.' " Mr. Oscar King Davis gives us a glimpse into the Spanish defenses at this time by an article in McClure's Magazine for June, 1899, in which he used original notes made by Mr. Andre, the Belgian consul at Manila, who managed the negotiations which terminated in the sur- render of the city to the American forces on the condi- tion that the Filipinos should be prevented from enter- ing. He states that "on June 8 (1898) Mr. Andre went out to visit the Spanish trenches to the south and east of Manila. In command of the Palo Bridge he found THE BETRAYAL OF OUR ALLIES. 231 Captain Don Juan de la Concha, who had been in com- mand of the cruiser 'Don Juan de Austria,' on the 1st of May, and had taken his sailor men into the trenches to help keep the insurgents out. Andre stopped to talk with Captain Concha, and General Jaudenes, who was then second in command, came up. Captain Concha was in a bad temper. Some of his men had been killed, and he didn't like it. He said he was unwilling to lose Spanish lives in fighting for the monks, and went on to rail against the friars, and to say that the country was priest-ridden. Jaudenes agreed with him. Andre said he was going to see Augustin, the captain-general, and asked leave to use the names of Jaudenes and Concha. Both agreed. That night Andre called upon Augustin and found the archbishop there. Nevertheless, he spoke plainly to the captain-general, and told him how Jaudenes and Concha felt. Augustin listened closely to all Andre had to say. He made little comment, but gave Andre the impression that he agreed with the two command- ers." CHAPTER XXXHI. THE BETRAYAL OF OUR ALLIES. After this conversation Mr. Andre approached Ad- miral Dewey and General Merritt, as Belgian consul, act- ing as an intermediary between the American and Span- ish commanders with the hope of avoiding a conflict and consequent bombardment of Manila and especially to prevent its capture by the Filipinos. He informed the American commander that "it was quite unnecessary to attack Manila; that the surrender could be arranged ; that if the general undertook to take 232 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. the city by any other means he would only have a good many men killed uselessly. Andre then asked General Merritt what his relations would be with the insurgents. General Merritt replied that he had come with orders not to treat with the In- dians; not to recognize them, and not to promise any- thing to them. "Aguinaldo is just the same to me,'* he said, "as any boy in the street." Dewey said again that if the city would surrender, he would do everything to keep the insurgents out," and "according to the arrangement the signal had been set on the 'Olympia' (demanding the surrender) and the white flag had flown above the city," which was the sign of surrender agreed upon. Thereupon in accordance with prearranged plans, fir- ing ceased, and the Spaniards withdrew from their de- fences, having promised to do so as the Americans ad- vanced, provided the Americans would conspire with them, "the common enemy," to prevent their allies, the Filipinos, from entering the city, which they endeavored to do, but the Filipinos, being faithful to the finish, had to be forced out after the battle, and their betrayal by their pretended friends and allies to their mortal foes, "the common enemy," was one of the most damnable deeds ever done by "diplomacy." To show how faithfully the Filipinos fought with and for us we will quote a few words of General Merritt, written for the Youth's Companion: "The insurgents were unable to restrain their impatience and kept up a general fusillade along their lines for hours before it was intended that the operations should begin." The following is quoted in confirmation of the state- ment of fact that the Filipinos were betrayed by the American commanders with whom they kept perfect faith: THE BETRAYAL OF OUR ALLIES. 2^,2, (Copyright, 1899, by The Chicago Record.) "Nice, Aug. 23 (1899). — Admiral Dewey received to- day a visit from Edouard Andre, the Belgian consul at Manila who negotiated the surrender of the Spanish gar- rison nearly four weeks before the American force took actual possession. M. Andre informed Admiral Dewey on July 15 that the Spaniards would surrender without a fight after their works had been shelled by the fleet long enough to save their honor. The admiral authorized him to assure the Spaniards that the fleet would so act as to spare life, but would give them a good excuse for sur- rendering. Arrangements were perfected through M. Andre July 24, but the army delayed the actual taking of Manila until Aug. 13." Mr. King quotes Admiral Dewey as saying to him on the morning of August 14, 1898, the day after the deal or surrender of Manila: 'T have been working for a month for this, and I was the only man who believed it could succeed. Merritt did not believe it, Anderson and Greene did not believe it; why, even my flag lieutenant thought I would not succeed." We leave it to the world to decide, which to believe hereafter^ when any controversy arises as to what was promised the Filipinos, the man who gloried in having betrayed his allies and ours, who were faithful to us, or our allies, who trusted him and were true throughout to us, till our "rulers" betrayed both. Anyone who would betray an ally would deny it. General Thomas M. Anderson, as the first command- ing general of the military forces of the United States in the Philippines, came in closest touch with the Filipinos at that time, and often officially solicited and accepted their "co-operation." On page 4 of Senate Document No. 208 of the 56th Congress, is his letter of July 4th, 1898, to Aguinaldo, 234 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. in which he wrote: "I desire to have the most amicable relations with you and to have you and your people co-operate with us in our military operations against the Spanish forces." On the next page of the same document is another letter to Aguinaldo, dated July 6th, 1898, in which he wrote: *'I would like to have your excellency's advice and co- operation, as you are best acquainted with the resources of this country. It must be apparent to you that we do not intend to remain here inactive, but to move promptly against our common enemy. But for a short time we must organize and land supplies and also retain a place for storing them near our fleet and transports." It is to be seen from the foregoing evidence which could be multiplied, that both Admiral Dewey, com- manding the American fleet, and General Anderson, commanding the American army at that time, offlcially invited the co-operation of the Filipinos. They both also gave them to understand that they con- sidered the Filipinos as "friends" and the Spaniards as "our common enemy," against whom we were engaged in actual warfare, which constituted us allies in fact, whether we were in pact, which we were, or not. General Anderson writes in his article in the North American Review for February, 1900, of these facts as follows: "Our first serious break with them arose from the re- fusal to let them co-operate with us. About nine o'clock on the evening of August 12th, I received from General Merritt an order to notify Aguinaldo to forbid the Fili- pino insurgents under his command entering Manila. This communication was delivered to him at twenty minutes past ten that night. "The Filipinos had made every preparation to assail the Spanish lines in their front. Certainly they would THE BETRAYAL OF OUR ALLIES. 235 not have given up part of their Hne to us unless they thought they were to fight with us. They therefore re- ceived General Merritt's interdict with anger and indig- nation. They considered the war as their war, and Manila as their capital, and Luzon as their country. -1= * * "The situation was exceedingly critical. Our soldiers believed that the Filipinos had fired on them, and the Filipinos were almost beside themselves with rage and disappointment. The friendly relations we had with Gen- erals Recati and Mbrial alone prevented a conflict then and there. "At seven o'clock I received an order from General Merritt to remove the Filipinos from the city. Had we attempted to use force, we would have had to fight to carry out our orders. In that event we would certainly have had a serious complication. With 10,000 men we would have had to guard 13,300 Spanish prisoners and fight 14,000 Filipinos. I therefore took the responsibil- ity of telegraphing Aguinaldo, who was at Ba- coor, ten miles away, requesting him to with- draw his troops, and intimating that serious conse- quences would follow if he did not do so. I received his answer at eleven saying that a commission would come to me next morning with full powers. Accordingly the next day Senors Buencamino, Lagarde, Araneto and Sandico came to division headquarters in Manila and stated that they were authorized to order the withdrawal of their troops if we would promise to reinstate them in their present positions on our making peace with Spain. Thereupon I took them over to General Merritt. "Upon their repeating their demands, he told them he could not give such a pledge, but that they could rely on the honor of the American people. The general then read to them the proclamation he intended to issue to the Filipino people. The commission then went back to Aguinaldo for further instructions. A member of the commission brought me a leter from Aguinaldo com- plaining that he had been harshly treated, and that his army had given up a part of their lines to us on the under- standing that there was to be a co-operation between us in future military movements. I showed this letter to 236 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. General Merritt after the commission had withdrawn. He directed me to reply that if Aguinaldo had been ap- parently harshly treated it was from a military necessity, and that, while we might recognize the justice of their insurrection, it was thought judicious to have only one army in Manila at one time." This shows how faithfully our Filipino allies "co- operated" with us tfil betrayed by us to ''our common enemy." If anyone doubts the fact that the Filipinos were act- ually our allies we wish to call their attention to the fol- lowing official acknowledgment of that fact, to be found upon page 336 of Senate Document No. 62 of the 55th Congress in a telegram from Consul-General Wildman to Secretary of State Day: ''Hongkong, May 19, 1898. — Day, Washington: This answers Long's cable to Dewey. From best information obtainable Dewey cannot reply under week. Twenty- one thousand Spanish troops, of which 4,000 native, 2,000 volunteers. All but 1,000 at Manila. They have ten mountain guns ; no large field artillery ; proven last rebel- lion not practicable. Plenty good ponies 12 hands high. No food Philippines but rice. Large supply of rifles should be taken for insurgent allies. Wildman." As Mr. Wildman made the arrangements with the Filipino leaders he knew whether they were our allies or not, and General Charles King, in a letter to the Chicago Record of May 13, 1899, writing of the Filipinos then, said. "The situation was a strange one. We were allies at the start, and became enemies through force of cir- cumstances." Aguinaldo was acknowledged to be our "ally" before the Paris Peace Commission, as follows: On page 488 and 489 of Senate Document No. 62, part 2, Records of the 55th Congress, are the following ques- tion and answer: THE BETRAYAL OF OUR ALLIES. 237 Mr. Frye, one of the Paris Peace Commissioners, questioned Commander Bradford of the U. S. navy, as follows : "Suppose the United States, in the progress of that war, found the leader of the present Philippine rebellion an exile from his country in Hongkong and sent for him and brought him to the islands in an American ship, and then furnished him 4,000 or 5,000 stands of arms and allowed him to purchase as many more stands of arms in Hongkong and accepted his aid in conquering Luzon, what kind of a nation, in the eyes of the world, would we appear to be to surrender Aguinaldo and his insurgents to Spain, to be dealt with as they pleased? "Answer: We become responsible for everything he has done, he is our ally, and we are bound to protect him." Upon these points we find the evidence of General Charles A. Whittier, U. S. volunteers, who received the surrender of Manila from the Spaniards. On page 499 of Senate Document No. 62, part 2, records of the 55th Congress, as follows, quoting word for word from the records: "Aguinaldo went to Cavite, under the permission of Admiral Dewey, in reply to a telegram sent by Spencer Pratt, Esq., our consul-general at Singapore, who offered that chief money for his expenses. The ofifer was de- clined. After arrival (on one of our ships) he went ashore, accompanied by 13 staflf ofBcers, to organize his army, but no adherents appeared the first day, and Aguinaldo, rather discouraged, meditated returning to Hongkong. I think Dewey advised him to make an- other effort, at the same time saying that he must leave the public buildings at Cavite, where he had made his headquarters. Soon from across the bay and from all sides men gathered. The fact that Dewey permitted the armed men to move from the surrounding districts and the rebels to take arms (not many, says the admiral) in the arsenal, was the only help we gave him, excepting 238 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. of course the most important destruction of the Spanish navy. From that time the miUtary operations and the conduct of the insurgents have been most creditable. Positions taken and the movements of troops, show great abihty on the part of some leader. I do not say it was necessarily Aguinaldo, but he gave the directions." "All the success was on the native side, and yet the Spaniards surrendered between 7,000 and 8,000 men, well armed, plenty of ammunition and in good physical condi- tion." On page 500, General Whittier further says of the Filipinos: "Their conduct to their Spanish prisoners has been deserving of the praise of all the world. With hatred of priests and Spaniards, fairly held on account of the conditions before narrated, and with every justifi- cation to a savage mind for the most brutal revenge, I have heard no instance of torture, murder or brutality since we have been in the country." Upon page 501, this question is put to General Whit- tier: "How far does the admiral say he encouraged Aguinaldo? Answer: I do not think he says he gave him any encouragement, except that he dissuaded him from returning to Hongkong when he was discouraged. "Question: Did you get that statement from Dewey? Answer: Yes, Aguinaldo was rather discouraged when any of the people failed to come to his banner on the first day. "Question: Were they of material assistance to us? Answer: Very great. * * * I think if they (the Span- iards) had not had this experience of having been driven back into the city and the water cut off, so even Jau- dcnes said he could not remove his non-combatants, the government (Spanish) would have insisted on his making a fight, and he could have made a very good one, for his position was strong, if they had any fight in them at all. But every place had been taken from them by the Fili- pinos, who managed their advances and occupation of the country in an able manner. THE BETRAYAL OF OUR ALLIES. 239 "Question: The insurrection had been ended in De- cember, 1897, by an arrangement under which certain money was paid in Hongkong and certain reforms prom- ised. Were these promises ever carried out? Answer: Not at alL" Upon page 490 General Whittier, in referring to the surrender of Manila, says: "After communications addressed by Admiral Dewey and General Merritt to the acting captain-general, ask- ing him to remove his non-combatants, and next de- manding the surrender of the city, which requests were both denied, the Belgian consul, as a semi-intermediary, came repeatedly to Dewey and proposed different meth- ods of giving up the city, after we had made an attack, which he said was necessary to satisfy Spanish honor. So the guns opened on August 13th, and after the white flag was shown, I was sent to receive the surrender. "I think the captain-general was much frightened. He reported in great trepidation that the insurgents were coming into the city, and I said that I knew that was impossible, because such precautions had been taken as rendered it so. The subject had been broached two days before and all the arrangements had been made." General Thomas M. Anderson, in his letter in the Chi- cago Record of February the 24th, 1900, wrote of this occurrence as follows: "Finally, just before we took Manila, and while Andre, the Belgian consul, was trying to bring about a surrender without a fight," etc., thus acknowledging these negotiations. Mr. Andre himself, in his report of the negotiations, states that it was agreed that at a certain time the Amer- icans should advance, and making a show of fight, the Spaniards would fall back, provided the Americans would promptly occupy the Spanish positions, and pre- vent the entry of the Filipino forces into Manila, which it 240 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. IS acknowledged by all concerned, was done, in accord- ance with agreements. Thus it appears clearly from both official records and other published reports, that we (Americans), after ask- ing the Filipinos to act as our "allies" against "our com- mon enemy," the Spaniards, and during their faithful "co-operation" with us in battle and before, both bar- tered away their freedom and country in connivance with "our common enemy," at Paris and Washington, and betrayed them before their mortal foes at Manila. Thus it is evident that neither Aguinaldo nor the Fili- pinos betrayed their country, nor ours, but that we, act- ing as alHes, betrayed both them and theirs. As General Anderson, who asked for Aguinaldo's co- operation, when commander of our army, wrote in the North American Review for February, 1900: "Our first serious break with them arose from our re- fusal to let them co-operate with us, * * * "The Filipinos had made every preparation to assail the Spanish lines in their front. Certainly they would not have given up part of their line to us unless they thought they were to fight with us. They therefore re- ceived General Merritt's interdict with anger and indig- nation. They considered the war as their war, and Manila as their capital, and Luzon as their country." On August 27th, 1898, Aguinaldo wrote a letter to General Merritt, which was turned over to General Otis when he took command. A copy of said letter can be seen upon page 5 of Gen- eral Otis' official report, in which Aguinaldo wrote as follows : "You ought to understand that without the long siege sustained by my forces, you might have obtained pos- session of the ruins of the city (Manila), but never the THE BETRAYAL OF OUR ALLIES. 241 rendition of the Spanish forces, who could have retired to the interior towns." Under date of Manila, September 8th, 1898, General Otis replied in a letter to be found upon pages 6, 7, 8 and 9 of his official report. From this answer we quote the following: "Referring to the sacrifices your troops have made, and the assistance they have rendered the American forces in the capture of Manila, it is well known they have made personal sacrifices, endured great hardships and have rendered aid.' Referring to the Spanish war he added: "It was un- dertaken by the United States for humanity^s sake, and not for its aggrandizement, or for any national profit it expected to receive." Here simple justice to the truth demands a reference to a remark made by General Anderson in an interview from Cincinnati, published in the New York Sun of July 2oth, 1899, as regards a statement of Mr. Halstead's that the Spanish had tried to treat with Aguinaldo. General Anderson is quoted as saying: "I told Hal- stead that, and sent a letter to the same effect to the department, before Manila had been taken. The negotia- tions fell through, and after that the city was taken. The Filipinos are good fighters and had the Spanish whipped easily." It is said that out of deference to Admiral Dewey and the wishes of the Americans, who were awaiting the arrival of General Merritt with his reinforcements, the Filipinos refrained from taking Manila, never dreaming of the treachery that was to betray them both at Paris and Manila to their mortal enemies, the Spanish friars, after their valiant victories over them. 242 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. FREEDOM FOREVER! FREEDOM FOR ALL! We have heard the cry of Cuba, And we've answered to her call, Shouting the battle cry of freedom! But the men of old Majuba And the Filipinos fall — Fall for the sacred cause of freedom ! CHORUS : Freedom forever! Freedom for all! We'll break every fetter, We'll burst every thrall, For our starry flag shall be Banner of the brave and free. Shouting the battle cry of freedom! As they fought at Santiago, And on old Manila Bay, Shouting the battle cry of freedom — So from 'Frisco to Chicago, Back to Boston's tea-strewn bay, Stand for the sacred cause of freedom ! From the Lakes to Gulf and Oceans, We will stand by those who fell, Shouting the battle cry of freedom , ■'Mid the din of war's commotions. For the cause we love so well, Stand for the sacred cause of freedom! — H. H. Van Meter. Chicago, August, 1900. The treatment of the Filipinos at the prearranged sur- render of Manila reminds us much of the treatment of grand old Garcia and his army of barefooted, ragged, but brave and patriotic allies, after the surrender of San- tiago, who were not allowed then to enter their own city, but were treated like a band of guerrillas, cut-throats and thieves. The same secret influences that befriended the friars in the Philippines interfered with affairs at San- tiago. The same spirit of duplicity, treachery and deceit that turned down the Cuban patriots, betrayed the pa- triots of the Philippines. It is that spirit of so-called ''patriotism" whose arbhorrent ''statesmanship," better THE BETRAYAL OF OUR ALLIES. 243 termed, "boodling," seeks to secure for American mer- cenaries every possible advantage to be gained by trade, regardless of vast expenditures of priceless blood and countless treasure, to say nothing of untold agony at home, and far greater sufferings abroad, among the help- less people they propose to plunder. It is the system of vampire politics which seeks to suck the life blood out of the body politic and would gladly betray the prin- ciples of liberty laid down in the Declaration of Indepen- dence (the foundations of freedom), and the Great Repub- lic, for political spoils in the Philippines, or any where else, ever keeping in view the vast political influences of the friends of the friars, the world over, for future Ameri- can elections. That grand old patriot, hero and Christian gentleman, Calixto Garcia, who had been brutally treated, wrote the following fitting letter: (By the Associated Press.) New York, July 22. — A dispatch from Santiago gives the following as being a letter sent by General Garcia to General Shafter: "Sir: On May 12 the government of the republic of Cuba ordered me, as commander of the Cuban army in the east, to co-operate with the American army, follow- ing the plans and obeying the orders of its commander. I have done my best, sir, to fulfill the wishes of my government and I have been until now one of your most faithful subordinates, honoring myself in carrying out your orders as far as my powers have allowed me to do it. *'The city of Santiago surrendered to the American army, and news of that important event was given to many persons entirely foreign to your staff. I have not been honored with a single word from yourself informing me about the negotiations for peace, or the terms of the capitulation by the Spaniards. The important ceremony of the surrender of the Spanish army and the taking pos- 244 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. session of the city by yourself took place later on, and I only knew of both events by public reports. "I was neither honored, sir, with a kind word from you inviting myself or any officer of my staff to represent the Cuban army on the memorable occasion. "Finally, I know that you have left in power at San- tiago the same Spanish authorities that for three years I have fought as the enemies of the independence of Cuba. I beg to say that these authorities have never been elected at Santiago by the residents of the city, but were appointed by royal decrees of the queen of Spain. "I would agree, sir, that the army under your com- mand should have taken possession of the city, the gar- rison and the forts. I would give my warrh co-operation to any measure you may have deemed best under Ameri- can military law to hold the city for your army and to preserve public order until the time comes to fulfill the solemn pledge of the people of the United -States to es- tablish in Cuba a free and independent government. But when the question arises of appointing authorities in Santiago de Cuba, under the peculiar circumstances of our thirty-years' strife against Spanish rule, I cannot see but with the deepest regret that such authorities are not elected by the Cuban people, but are the same ones selected by the queen of Spain, and hence are ministers to defend against the Cubans the Spanish sovereignity. "A rumor, too absurd to believe, general, ascribes the reason of your measures and of the orders forbidding my army to enter Santiago to fear of massacres and revenge against the Spaniards. Allow me, sir, to protest against even the shadow of such an idea. We are not savages ignoring the rules of civilized warfare. We are a poor, ragged army — as ragged and as poor as was the army of your forefathers in their noble war for independence — but, as did the heroes of Saratoga and Yorktown, we re- spect too deeply our cause to disgrace it with barbarism and cowardice. "In view of all these reasons, I sincerely regret to be unable to fulfill any longer the orders of my government, and therefore I have tendered to-day to the commander- PLOTTING FOR THE TREATY OF PEACE. 245 in-chief of the Cuban army, Maj.-Gen. Maximo Gomez, my resignation as commander of this section of our army. Awaiting his resolution, I withdraw my forces to the interior. Very respectfully yours, "Calixto Garcia." The situations at Santiago and Manila were precisely the same. General Garcia like many another noble Cath- olic Cuban, had been excommunicated as a Masonic in- surrectionist, because he was a Cuban patriot. The Filipinos had the same reasons for fighting, and the same foes to face. CHAPTER XXXIV. PLOTTING FOR THE TREATY OF PEACE. As soon as Santiago had fallen the Spaniards saw their cause was lost, and began to sue for peace. The peace protocol was signed and the Paris Peace Commission proposed, which gave the friars and their friends just the opportunity for which their training in intrigue best fitted them. As they had' worked from the first to prevent the war for freedom, so now they sought to pervert it into a war of oppression upon the Filipinos, in behalf of the villainous friars, who had brought about their own down- fall, by their barbarous rule. President McKinley and his advisers who had done all that they dared to do, to prevent the war for human free- dom, then seemed determined to do all in their power to defeat the purposes of that war, through the Treaty of Peace at Paris. How well they have succeeded history will show. When the Paris Peace Commission was being formed, the friends of the friars and religious orders were as act- 246 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. ive as when they were endeavoring to avert the war for freedom in Cuba, as can be seen from the following : The daily press of August 11, 1898, published the fol- lowing telegram: ''Rome, Aug. 10. — The Tribuna says that the Vatican is in constant communication -with Archbishop Ireland, Mgr. Martinelli, apostolic delegate in the United States, and Duke Almodavor de Rio, the Spanish minister of foreign affairs, endeavoring to secure clauses in the treaty of peace that will safeguard the religious interests of Catholic residents in countries to be ceded by Spain to the United States." The New York Evening Post, of August 19, 1898, con- tained this item: 'Washington, Aug. 19. — The members of the cabinet, except Secretaries Day and Long, who are out of the city, were prompt in reaching the White House to-day for the regular session. Archbishop Ireland was one of the notable visitors at the White House to-day. He ar- rived about ten o'clock, and had a conference with Presi- dent McKinley. He preserved his usual reticence, but it is reported.that he is empowered to make representa- tions to the administration looking to the protection of the interests of the church of Rome in our new territorial accessions, particularly in Porto Rico." The New York Sun, of August 19, 1898, had the fol- lowing: ''Washington, Aug. 19. — Another visitor to the White House who had an interview with the President, was Archbishop Ireland, whose stay in Washington has been protracted beyond the period assigned to it by the arch- bishop when he came on Wednesday. His grace de- clined to say anything about the errand that keeps him here, but current talk connects it with the mention of Bourke Cochran's name as one of the Peace Commission or as legal adviser of that body. Later in the day Arch- bishop Ireland saw Secretary Gage at the Treasury De- PLOTTING FOR THE TREATY OF PEACE. 247 partment. It was stated that the holding of the Vatican in the Spanish-Cuban 4s amounted to $60,000,000." The Boston Herald, August 20, 1898, read: "Washington, Aug. 19, 1898. — Archbishop Ireland, the special representative of the Pope in all the antebel- lum peace negotiations, has been for several days talking with cabinet officers, and had a long interview with the President to-day. Like the diplomat that he is, Arch- bishop Ireland tells the newspaper men that his visit has no significance; but it is well understood that it has had at least two objects here, and that he is probably acting under instructions from Rome of an unofficial character. *'One of his objects is to secure the appointment of at least one peace commissioner who will be considerate in the negotiations at Paris of the other object, which is to protect the interests of the church in Cuba, Porto Rico, and the Philippines. "Archbishop Ireland is a friend of Senator Davis of his own State, who has accepted a place on the com- mission, but the archbishop would like to see Justice White, or some other member of his own church, ap- pointed." An editorial in the Washington Times, August 2*], 1898, said: "It is understood that Justice White's appointment (to the Paris Peace Commission — afterwards withdrawn because of popular protest) will greatly please Arch- bishop Ireland and other potentates of the Catholic church, which has vast property interest in the Philip- pines, and all the other Spanish islands of which pos- session has been taken by the American forces. Justice White will be expected to protect the Catholic interests, although he is in no sense a representative of the church. Under Spanish rule there is now, and always has been, a bond between church and state." A dispatch to the New York Sun, August 25, 1898, declared: "The fact that Justice White is the candidate whose 248 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. appointment has been urged by Bishop Ireland, repre- senting the Catholic church, were facts that had weight with the President in deciding to appoint him." But public opinion was opposed to this appointment, and Justice White declined the courtesy of a place upon the Commission, as is reported. Then followed the fiasco of the victors agreeing to pay the vanquished an indemnity of $20,000,000, though they have refused to pay their ''allies" one penny of fair re- muneration, for vast expenditures of blood and treasure which, we know as our own official representative de- clared, they are honestly entitled to. Worse than that, they refused them any voice what- ever in the negotiations for their future, while allowing ''our common enemy" every advantage. Finally to cap the climax of "Criminal Aggression," they bartered away both their land and liberty, and be- trayed them to their mortal foes, the friars. The Filipinos having already conquered them, and holding most of them as hostages for future safety, had also regained the vast estates stolen from the people by centuries of oppression, to whom Aguinaldo's republi- can government had determined to return them, while banishing their Spanish robbers and outragers back to Spain. General Anderson, on the field at that time, wrote thus: "We held Manila and Cavite. The rest of the island was held not by the Spaniards, but by the Filipinos. On the other islands the Spaniards were confined to two or three fortified towns. At the time referred to we could not claim to hold by purchase, for we had not then re- ceived Spain's quitclaim deed to the archipelago. Mak- ing allowances for the difference of time, we took Manila ^■ -^^-. PLOTTING FOR THE TREATY OF PEACE. 249 almost to the hour when the peace preHminaries were signed at Washington." These ''preliminaries" resulted in the Treaty of Peace at Paris. Article three of the Peace Protocol between the United States and Spain reads: "The United States will occupy and hold the city, bay and harbor of Manila pending the conclusion of the treaty of peace, which shall determine the control, dis- position and government of the Philippines." This protocol was signed on August 12, 1898, and the treaty of peace was not ratified until April 11, 1899, yet pursuant to instructions from Washington Gen. Wesley Merritt proclaimed a military government in the Philip- pines, the day after the occupation of Manila, August 14, 1898, concluding his proclamation with the following clause: ''VII. The commanding general in announcing the establishment of military government and in entering upon his duty as military governor, in pursuance of his appointment as such by the Government of the United States," etc. * * * The full text of this proclamation may be found upon pages 86-9 of Senate document. No. 208 of the 56th Con- gress, showing conclusively that no regard whatever was paid to the public terms of the peace protocol, nor to the constitutional requirements for what was virtually the beginning of a war of conquest in the Philippines, Con- gress having never declared such a war. Any who doubt this statement are referred to official records for proof as follows: From page 55 to 68 of Gen. E. S. Otis' official report may be found an account of the expedition against Iloilo, troops being ordered to that port by President McKinley as he pretended — "to pre- serve the peace." See page 55. 250 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. As everything was peaceful and prosperous under the Philippine government, the foreign merchants pro- tested against interference upon the part of the United States on the ground that it v^ould result in loss of life and property v^ithout any reason or excuse for the same. The publication of the President's Benevolent Assimi- lation Proclamation at Iloilo, and of General Otis' Be- nevolent Dissimulation substitute for the same at Manila at the same time, showed President McKinley's double dealing so plainly that the storm of war burst just as the Americans had anticipated and planned. Ignoring the terms of the Peace Protocol, ignoring the prerogatives of the Sentate of the United States which had not ratified the Treaty of Peace, ignoring the Con- gress of the United States which alone could legislate for the government of the Philippines, if they were ours, the President proclaimed what General Otis rightly termed, "a Military Despotism." Proclaiming peace, he made war, without declaration. Then it was that the same subtle influences came se- cretly into action again, to defeat the dictates of human- ity, which led Mr. McKinley and his advisers to try to thwart the overwhelming will of the people, when the conscience of America demanded war for the freedom of Cuba, and commanded it, through its representatives in Congress, by an irresistible public sentiment. From the Pope of Rome himself, to the humblest rep- resentative of the Roman Catholic hierarchy, every friend of the friars was alert, and the almost irresistible influence of that system of centuries, and that splendid discipline of ages, stole victory from defeat, turning despair to defiance. Our government was induced to pay a paltry $20,000,- 000 for the privilege of supplanting Spanish with Ameri- SPANISH OFFICERS SICK OF FRIARS. 251 can soldiers, to suppress a struggle for that freedom in the Philippines which we went to war with Spain to win for Cuba. This treachery has already cost hundreds of millions of dollars and is likely to cost us many times more in money, not to mention priceless blood and national honor, all spent for the purpose of saving ''our common enemy" the Spanish friars with their stolen estates, and exploiting our allies, the Filipinos. CHAPTER XXXV. RETENTION OF FRIARS FATAL TO PEACE. On page 389 of Senate Document No. 62, part 2, of the records of the 55th Congress, is to be found the fol- lowing statement of M. Andre, then Belgian Consul at Manila, in his evidence before the Paris Peace Com- missioners : "The Spanish officers refuse to fight for the sake of the priests, and if the Spanish government should retain the Philippines their soldiers will all fall prisoners in the hands of the Indians in the same way as they did already, and this is because the army is sick of war without result, and only to put the country at the mercy of the rapa- cious empleadas and luxurious monks. 'The monks know that they are no more wanted in the Philippines, and they asked me to help them to go away as soon as possible, and it is principally for them that I asked for the transports to the United States govern- ment, and to send them to Hongkong. The Indians will be delighted to see them go and will be grateful to the United States. 'Tf some chiefs of the rebellion will be a little dis- appointed in their personal pride, they will be convinced that it is better for them to submit in any case, for most of these chiefs prefer American authority, and they are 252 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. very anxious to know the result of the meeting of Paris. If the United States keeps the islands, they will remain quiet, but if the Spanish authority is restored in the islands, or part of them, they will attack the Spaniards, and be in constant revolt. This has been told me by Aguinaldo, Landico, Ziroma, Mabini and other prin- cipal chiefs, and repeated on Sunday, 28th of August (1898). Very respectfully, "Andre." When the Treaty of Peace provided as it did for the release of the friars, the retention by them of their stolen estates, and their virtual return thereby, to power, the worst element of Spanish rule was restored, to be per- petuated, according to this treaty, under American pro- tection, as ample evidence like the following proves : Upon page 589 of Senate document. No. 62, of the 55th Congress, Mr. Foreman testifies to that fact: "I have so far only alluded to the civil and military gov- ernment, which is virtually nothing more than the execu- tive of the ecclesiastical authority. The real rulers of the islands are the four corporations of friars, namely, the Augustinian, Dominican, Franciscan and Recoleto orders," and all authorities agree with this statement. In his evidence presented to the Paris Peace Com- mission, upon page 417 of Senate document. No. 62, Gen. F. V. Greene stated that "The archbishop and four bish- ops are appointed by the Pope," and as they will still be appointed by him as heads of the orders, the government will remain as it was virtually, if they remain, for they will rule or ruin, as in the past. On page 418 of Senate document. No. 62, General Greene states that "the Governor-General is the supreme head of ever^^^ branch of pubHc service, not excepting the courts of justice. How this power was exercised is shown in the hundreds of executions for alleged poli- tical offenses which took place during the years 1895, RETENTION OF FRIARS. 253 1896 and 1897, by the thousands deported to Mindanao and Fernando Po, and by the number of poHtical prison- ers in jail at the time of our entry into Manila. On the first examination which General MacArthur, as military governor, made of the jail, about August 22, he released over 60 prisoners confined for political offenses. One of them was a woman who had been in prison for eleven years, by order of the Governor-General, but without any charges ever having been presented against her; another was a woman who had been in jail for three years, on a vague charge, never formulated, of having carried a basket of cartridges to an insurgent. * * * ''Finally the government officials of all classes refused to perform their functions. The desire of most of them is to escape to Spain. It was stated in the capitulation that they should have the right to do so at their own ex- pense and numbers of them, as well as friars, have al- ready taken their departure. "The Spanish officials have intense fear of the insur- gents, and the latter hate them, as well as the friars, with a virulence that can hardly be described. They have fought them with success and almost without interrup- tion for two years, and they will continue to fight them with increased vigor, and still greater prospect of success, if any attempt is made to restore the Spanish govern- ment." If it is true as witnesses agree that the friars have been the real rulers of the islands under the Spanish regime, then their restoration means the retention of the worst element of Spanish oppression under the protec- tion of America. This is what the Filipinos have been fighting against for years and they are justified in fighting against it still, and they were forced to fight against us when the Treaty of Peace became known to them, or submit to what no true American would see any one submit to. 254 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. Even the "virtuous" Archbishop Nozaleda, of Manila, whose ''pastorals" had appealed so passionately to the people to arise and exterminate the American heretics, had declared as early as September i8, 1898, that "the re- ligious orders must go," as follows: [By the Associated Press.] "Manila, Sept. 18, (1898).— Archbishop Dozal (should read Nozaleda), of the Philippine islands, says: 'I earnestly hope the islands will not remain Spanish, because the rebels are now so strong that such a course would inevitably cause appalling bloodshed. The re- conquest of the natives is impossible until after years of the most cruel warfare. I also hope the islands will not become absolutely independent, because it is certain that dissensions will occur which will result in incessant strife and a lapse into barbarism and the natural indolence of the tropical race. The only hope is that a strong western power will intervene now. Delay is dangerous because the people are intoxicated, vainglorious and restless. Tt is undeniable that the religious orders must go, because the whole people have determined to abolish them now that they are able to render their retention impossible.' "The total number of Spanish priests in the Philip- pines before the war was about 1,000, but lately every departing steamer has taken fifty or 100 of them away, and now barely 500 remain. A native priest privately says the reason the archbishop hopes for the expulsion of the friarly orders is that they have grown too powerful for him. Several Spaniards say they will refuse to re- main here if Spain is reinstated in the control of the islands. Many of the Spanish soldiers refuse to serve again, and Spanish officers prefer to become American subjects. "The annexationists have a majority of seventy-one in the national assembly, but the discussion of the subject has not been finished." Upon page 339 of Senate document. No. (^2, Mr. Wild- man states in an official letter: RETENTION OF FRIARS. 255 "As for the mass of uneducated natives they would be content under any rule save that of the friars." According to the Associated Press dispatch just quoted, there were then only about five hundred friars in the Philippines, about half of their number having fled, which statement seems to be substantiated by the facts and evi- dence in the case. Allowing only 10,000,000 population for the Philip- pines, there would be then only one friar for every twenty thousands of Filipinos, and yet our "government of the people by the people for the people," in order to favor one foreign friar, defrauded twenty thousands of native Filipinos, sacrificing the wishes and welfare of the 10,- 000,000 native Filipinos for the intrigues of five hundred foreign friars. Any one feeling that it is impossible for a few friars to subvert the freedom of so many millions, must re- member that they are doing so and have done so for three centuries. Any one believing that it will be impossible for the friars to continue their reign of terror under the Ameri- can government, must tell how it happens then that their influence has caused "Protestant" America to send an army of 80,000 men to reinstate them, when "Catho- lic" Spain refused to reinforce Governor-General Blanco, when he demanded 80,000 men to protect them, or their expulsion, and failing of both, resigned. The Chicago Times-Herald published the following: "Nothing could be more significant of the situation in the Philippines than the Manila dispatch which details a recent interview with Archbishop Dozal, the head of the Catholic church in those islands. It shows how com- pletely the Spanish Catholics themselves have despaired of ever again holding the natives under their control. Archbishop Dozal expresses the earnest hope that the 256 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. Philippines will not be given back to Spain, 'because the rebels are now so strong that such a course would inevitably cause appalling bloodshed.' He also hopes that the islands will not be left to the rule of the insur- gents, as such a course would end in 'incessant strife and a lapse into barbarism.' He says the only security for the islands now lies in 'the intervention of some strong western power.' "As there is no western power concerned in this matter except the United States, it is to be presumed that Arch- bishop Dozal means this as an appeal for America to hold the Philippines. This is the same Archbishop who in last May wrote the famous pastoral letter in which he denounced the Americans, and incidentally the Brit- ish, as being heretical scum, thieves, assassins, and as- sailants of women. At that moment the consuls of these ''thieves" were holding in trust and protecting for him over $50,000,000 worth of church property. He has now evidently come to the conclusion that the Americans are about the best protectors his church can have for pre- serving it from the loss of all its property as well as its power. He says it is undeniable that the Catholic re- ligious orders must go. The friars have so shamefully abused their power in the Philippines that the whole populace is determined to abolish them. "Archbishop Dozal is aware that there can no' longer be any connection between church and state under the Americans, as there was at the time when he supple- mented Captain-General Augusti's bombastic tirade with one of his own, but he sees that it is better to accept reasonable rights under a just rule than to sufifer the total loss that has deservedly come upon the church through the greed of the Dominicans, Franciscans, and other religious orders. It is evident that the friars had got pretty well beyond the control of the Archbishop, and that he is willing to see them go by the board, as they deserve, provided he can strengthen himself. His desire for American rule need not be regarded as any- thing more than an expression of self-interest, but it is just here that its significance lies. He admits that Span- ish corruption, coupled with the tyranny and greed of RETENTION OF FRIARS. 257 the friars, has defeated itself forever in the PhiUppines." The Times-Herald of Chicago contains the following in an editorial of September 2^, 1898, upon these points: "It has been reported that the hierarchy would send a commission to the islands to determine upon a plan for conforming the churches to the new conditions. It was also reported that the Spanish bishops and priests would be supplanted by American prelates and priests. * * * 'That these reports are erroneous is now apparent from the statements of Archbishop Ireland, who is an acknowledged authority upon all questions pertaining to the Pope's plans in America. The Archbishop declares that no American commission will be sent to the islands, and that the present personnel of the clergy will not be disturbed. * * * Coming from so high an authority as Archbishop Ireland, the matter may have been said to have been Hfted above all controversy." CHAPTER XXXVI. THE RELEASE OF THE FRIARS DEMANDED AND REFUSED. Notwithstanding their brutal betrayal at Manila, and the tyrannical usurpation of power by the Washington government, and that our American soldiers "captured" such trifles as pianos, or anything else portable as "sou- venirs," and bought or appropriated whatever they wanted, without always paying for it, yet at this time the Filipinos were still friendly. To show how friendly the Filipinos were, notwith- standing they were being forced from their own capital city, Manila, to their greatest grievance, General E. S. Otis states upon page 10 of his official report of August 31, 1900, o£ their evacuation of Manila as follows: "The withdrawal was effected adroitly, as the insurg- 258 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. ents marched out in excellent spirits, cheering the Amer- ican troops." Notwithstanding constant friction from causes both avoidable and inevitable, these friendly relations remained unbroken until, as General Otis states upon page 22 of this report: ''During the latter part of October instruc- tions were received from Washington directing that effort be made to secure the release of members of the Spanish clergy and religious orders who were held by the insurg- ent government as prisoners of war." But about this time, as can be seen by reference to page 15 of Senate document, No. 208, of the 56th Con- gress, complaint was being constantly made by friends of the friars or Spanish priests as to the treatment of prison- ers by the Filipinos. These complaints were undoubtedly caused by the guilty consciences of the complainants, who knew very well what these selfsame friars and Spanish prisoners deserved, and probably feared very naturally that they would receive some such just retribution. It is stated that the Secretary of the Navy cabled Admiral Dewey, about August i, as follows: ''Re- ported here that monks and other prisoners in the hands of the insurgents at Cavite are in danger of being un- justly put to death." Then also that on August 9, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy cabled to Admiral Dewey again : "At the instance of the French ambassador, informa- tion concerning treatment of Spanish prisoners by insur- gents is requested." Then it was that Admiral Dewey replied: "Referring to your telegram of August 29, from my observation and that of my officers, the Spanish prisoners are not treated cruelly by the insurgents, but they are RELEASE OF FRIARS REFUSED. 259 neglected, not from design, but owing to want of proper food supply, medical outfit, and attendance." From page 22 of General Otis' official report we quote the following to be found in a letter from him to Aguin- aldo: "I believe that a vast majority of the reports of great cruelty and barbarous treatment practiced by the Filipinos toward these individuals which have been put in general circulation are untrue." Upon page 500 of Senate document. No. 62, of the 55th Congress, is Gen. Charles A. Whittier's evidence upon this point before the Paris Peace Commissioners as follows: 'Their conduct to their Spanish prisoners has been deserving of the praise of the whole world. With hatred of priests and Spaniards, fairly held on account of the conditions before narrated, and with every justification to a savage mind for the most brutal revenge, I have heard no instance of torture, murder, or brutality since we have been in the country." Yet to use the current expression at that time — ''the wires were kept hot between Rome and Washing- ton," with all kinds of false rumors of cruelty and out- rages said to be perpetrated upon" the captive friars by the Filipinos in spite of full official denials. Archbishop Chappelle gave out the following in his answer to General Funston under date of Washington, D. C, October 23, 1899: "Every priest (with the excep- tion of a few natives) in the island of Luzon, outside the walled city of Manila, is a prisoner of the insurgents. For the last eighteen months this state of affairs has ex- isted, and during all this period more than 350 friars have been undergoing unheard of tortures in insurgent dungeons." He told the truth if he intended to say that the tortures had not been heard of, for they had not, except in the falsehoods circulated by those friends of the friars, who 26o THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. sympathize with them in all their villainy, robbery and oppression of the people. But through these people, the real trouble began, as can be seen from the following quotation from the 22nd page of General Otis' report, wherein he states that — "During the latter part of October (1898), instructions were received from Washington directing that effort be made to secure the release of members of the Spanish clergy and religious orders, who were held by the in- surgent government as prisoners of war." In a letter of November 2, 1898, General Otis wrote to Aguinaldo as follows (see page 22 of his official report)^ ''Office U. S. Military Governor in the Philippine Islands. ''Manila, P. I., November 2, 1898. "Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo. "Commanding Philippine Revolutionary Forces, Mal- olos, P. I. "General : By direction of my government, I have the honor to present for your distinguished consideration a subject which is causing much comment and a great deal of severe criticism of the Filipino people throughout Europe and among the very large class of Catholic citi- zens of my own country, and that is, the retention as prisoners of war of the Spanish Catholic clergy and nuns. I believe that a vast majority of the reports of great cruelty and barbarous treatment practiced by the Filipinos toward these individuals which have been put in general circulation are untrue. Indeed, I have for- bidden cablegrams prepared on this subject, which I had good reason to suppose could not be substantiated, to be sent to other countries, and I have informed the United States authorities that many rumors of this na- ture in circulation throughout the civilized world were greatly exaggerated. Still, however, the facts stand out pre-eminently that these individuals have suffered pri- vations and hardships and are still held in captivity, and fabrications charging most cruel and inhuman treatment, resulting in loss of life, will continue to be spread abroad RELEASE OF FRIARS REFUSED. 261 to the great detriment of the interest and welfare of the FiHpino people. I do not consider that I sacrificed in any particular the confidence reposed in me by my gov- ernment in communicating to you that it has been re- quested by the Vatican at Rome and by many distin- guished men high in the councils of nations, to employ its good offices in efforts to secure the liberty of the Spanish clergy, and of all individuals connected with religious orders now held in durance, * * * among whom are especially mentioned the Bishops of New Segovia and the nuns in the northwestern part of the Island of Luzon. It is, of course, needless for me to present to you or your able counselors by whom you are surrounded, and, indeed, it may be considered a presumption on my part to invite your attention to the fact that this clergy, and, indeed, the civil functionaries of the Spanish Government, cannot under a strict interpre- tation of the rules of international law be deemed prison- ers of war except in certain very aggravated cases. It would require most decided action on the part of mem- bers of religious orders to place them in that category, and the seizure and retention of nuns or interference with them in the practice of "what they consider their duties under their sacred religious vows is invariably looked upon with marked disfavor by all nations claim- ing to practice civilized warfare. All this is well known to you, and I only allude to it, to account, in a meas- ure, for the erroneous impressions which publicly pre- vail regarding the humane sentiments and good inten- tions cherished by the Filipinos, and which are so damag- ing to them in securing a position as a people which they seek to invoke. You will please pardon me for this allusion, but the matter is so important to the best inter- ests of the Filipinos, that I have taken the liberty, unin- vited, to present it. "Confident that you seek the welfare of your people, may I in that confidence ask you to use your conceded in- fluence to correct this condition of affairs and to act with me in efforts to place these prisoners in a position which 262 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. will put an end to the acrimonious criticisms which now so widely prevail?" In this instance General Otis seems to have been act- ing both as an advocate for Spanish friars, and as an adviser to the Filipinos to prove themselves fit for inde- pendence. Then he adds: "I would be pleased to re- ceive them here at Manila and care for them while they make preparations to leave the country, as I am informed many of them desire to do. * * * Any traveling ex- pense or cost of food required to efifect their removal to this point I would be glad to meet should you desire it. "E. S. Otis, '^Major-General U. S. V., "United States Military Governor in the Philippines." The very next day Aguinaldo replied as promptly as possible to the foregoing demand as follows : We quote from the 2nd and 3d columns of the 2nd page of the Manila Times of Wednesday, November i6th, 1898. The publication was permitted under the censor- ship. It is as clear and concise as could be made. ''Some ten days ago Major-General E. S. Otis sent a communication to Emilio Aguinaldo upon the subject of the Spanish prisoners in the hands of the insurgents. The following is a literal translation of the reply writ- ten by Aguinaldo and published in La Independencia, the official organ of the Filipino Republic: 'Malolos, November 3d, 1898. To Major-General E. S. Otis, Commander-in-Chief of the American Army of occupation in Manila: 'General: I have the pleasure to acknowledge receipt of your favor of yesterday's date, and I beg to say that your remarks, far from being displeasing to me, will, on the other hand, be most useful to me, as anything that comes from one in your position and dictated by the spirit bred in a free country cannot fail to be. T must also bring to your notice the fact that we»do not make prisoners of women and children, much less of (Sisters of Mercy) nuns. If among our prisoners there RELEASE OF FRIARS REFUSED. 263 are women or children they are there of their own will and because they are of the family of a prisoner and prefer to be with him. We are obhged to support such women and children at the cost of the Philippine treas- ury. This detail has not been provided for in interna- tional rules of war, but we do it from humanitarian mo- tives. T am pleased to note you state that Spanish clericals and Spanish civil functionaries cannot be made prisoners of war under international law. Before answering this point permit me to observe that we have not made pris- oners of any priests, except those pertaining to the regu- lar Spanish clergy, and not of those who are simply preachers; and please let me explain this point, so that you may better understand what I mean and that a mis- taken impression of it may not get abroad. Tt is true that international laws declare in a general way that clerical and civil functionaries may not be made prisoners of war, but the spirit of these same laws ex- cludes religious sacerdots and Spanish civil functionaries in the Philippines because they are only so in name. To begin with Spanish civil functionaries. Permit me to point out that at the beginning of the war between America and Spain, General Augustin obliged them to carry arms, without distinction of class, and even before that, during the Philippine revolution, the Spanish civil functionaries formed armed volunteer corps, which, even allowing that they never took the field, helped the regu- lars in imprisoning, shooting and submitting to inhuman tortures peaceful and defenseless natives. More, I must inform you that even now in the Spanish penitentiaries and penal establishments hundreds of imprisoned and deported Filipinos are languishing, torn from their hearths and homes, on account of the suspicions of the old Spanish Government and to satisfy the wicked desires of the religious sacerdots — so-called "Ministers of Peace." 'As regards the clericals, that is, the Spanish religious 264 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. sacerdots, allow me to put before you the following for your consideration: 'First — The religious corporations in the Philippines have obtained large agricultural estates by pure cheat- ing. In the old days the Filipinos, carried away by re- ligious fervor, presented a portion of the produce from their land to the priests for their maintenance, but as time went on the successors of those who were main- tained by the free gifts of the natives gradually made the contributions of these obligatory, taking possession of their lands to make sure of payment, and turning the lawful proprietors into tenants of theirs, the natives being afraid to rebel against the imposition for fear of the Span- ish authorities, whom the priests had taken care to suborn by bribes. 'Second — According to the canonical laws of the Roman church, religious sacerdots cannot undertake the cure of souls, which is reserved solely for the secular clergy, to which the Philippine sacerdots belong. In spite of this, the Spanish priests, in order that they might hold benefices, such as positions of parish cures, have gone on cheating the Vatican and foreign public opinion, painting these towns and parishes as filled with sav- ages, who were only managed and kept in check by the constant care and missionary efforts of the priests, or they would at once return to their ancient systems of idolatry. The Philippine sacerdots, who have tried to cor- rect this false impression in the Vatican and in foreign public opinion, have been sacrificed under the name of disturbers of the peace. Third — These same priests tried to cheat the Spanish Government, making it believe they were absolutely necessary for the continuance of Spanish sovereignty in the Philippines, and even though in the end the Span- ish authorities saw through their game, they shut their eyes to the truth. The gold supplied by the rich Span- ish corporations made them see as the priests saw. Thus the priests, having usurped the position of those who are alone supposed to be able to cure souls, be- came absolute masters of the natives for a long time; they .RELEASE OF FRIARS REFUSED. 265 had in their hands the Hves, goods and honor of the FiHpinos, and could and did do what they Uked with all three. This is public and notorious, and all foreign- ers who know and have -seen and studied Philippine mat- ters, unanimously agree that this is true, and that the religious corporations have taken advantage of the rot- ten state of the Spanish Government and shut up every path to the progress and liberty of the natives. 'Having pointed out these facts to you, General, you will understand that, given the influence and the large interests that the religious corporations have in the Phil- ippines, it would be neither just nor politic to set these priests at liberty. The archbishop, as much as the bish- ops, belongs -to the regular Spanish clerics, and it is not right that they go on exercising the predominant power in the islands — because they might get up a counter- revolution by the aid of their gold and the fanaticism of some Filipinos who still believe that they are inspired. When the native sacerdots, unjustly thrown to one side by the Vatican, have obtained their rights and can be- come bishops and village cures, then there will be no danger to the public peace in setting the Spanish priests at liberty. The .Spanish Government and the Vatican have shown that they do not acknowledge right and justice when their interests are at stake, and on that ac- count the Filipinos wish to keep hold of the Spanish civil functionaries as hostages for the liberty of the Fili- pinos who are banished and imprisoned, and the priests for the purpose of making the Vatican acknowledge the rights of the Philippine clergy. 'And as the representative of the United States in these islands, I pray you, General, to make it known that it is not hatred nor vengeance which makes the Filipinos keep the civil authorities and the priests prisoners, but the pubUc interest and the public peace make it neces- sary to do so. International laws must give way when they encounter the just claims of a country of millions of souls, because this cause is the cause of humanity, of civ- ilization and progress. My people demand this measure and I must give them their will (wish). 266 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. 'If you, General, can manage to put these feelings of my people before your government, and the foreign pub- lic opinion, and to counteract the erroneous opinion formed for want of a true knowledge of the situation, you will gain the gratitude of the Philippine people and of the civilized world. I am sir. Your most obedient servant, Emilio Aguinaldo. Translations of the foregoing letter from General Otis to Aguinaldo and his answer thereto are also to be found upon pages 41, 42, 43 and 44 of Senate Document No. 208 of the 56th Congress, as well as pages 22, 23 and 24 of General Otis' official report of August 31, 1899. In reply to Aguinaldo's letter of November 3d, 1898, declining to release Spanish monks and civil officials held as prisoners. General Otis wrote a letter to be found upon pages 44, 45 and 46 of Senate Document No. 208, and pages 24, 25 and 26 of his official report of August 31st, 1899, in part as follows: ''Office United States Military Governor In the Philippine Islands. Manila, P. I., November loth, 1898. "General Emilio Aguinaldo, commanding Philippine Revolutionary Force, Malolos, P. I. "General — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your cordial communication of the 3d instant, for which permit me to thank you.* * * f highly appre- ciate your expressed desire to act for the public interest, the peace of the Filipinos, and in accordance with the dictates of humanity, but you will pardon my candid confession that I am unable to comprehend the force of your remark to the effect that international law must give way before the just cause of a country of millions of souls because it is one of humanity. I fail to under- stand how the principles of that law can be antagonistic in any particular to the welfare of a people, founded, as they are, on the best interpretation of the law of nature iwhich the acknowledged wisdom of ages of human prog- RELEASE OF FRIARS REFUSED. 267 ress has been able to bestow. Every independent nation claiming advanced enlightenment professes to be bound by these obligations of that law and certainly would be held responsible by the civilized world should it openly violate them. * * * *'As regards the members of the Spanish clergy, I un- derstand you to state in substance, that they are held as prisoners of war on account of the grave offenses com- mitted by them while Luzon was under the practical domination of Spain; that they were the primary and principal cause of the revolution which has been in progress for the past two years; that it is not prudent to set them at liberty, as they are disposed and might be able, if released, to incite a counter revolution in Span- ish interests, and that they are retained in prison not only for such reasons, but also to compel the Vatican to rec- ognize the conceded rights of the Filipino clergy which has hitherto been denied it. * * * ''I do not think that the views you advance would re- ceive favorable general acceptance, and believe there- fore, in all sincerity, that the good name, reputation, and welfare of that people would be greatly enhanced by re- lieving those men from the captivity which they have so long endured. **I can only ask in conclusion that the wishes of my Government may receive more favorable consideration than your most friendly letter indicates. "I am. General, with great respect, your obedient serv- ant, **E. S. Otis, ''Major-General U. S. V., ''United States Military Governor in the Philippines." As this ends this correspondence upon the part of General Otis it is very evident that he found the position he had taken to be utterly untenable. In reply to the letter of General Otis, Aguinaldo wrote on November i8th a letter to be found upon pages 46, 47, 48 and 49 of Senate Document No. 208 and pages 26, 27 and 28 of General Otis' official record in part as follows: 268 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. *'I have already said in my last letter that the decree of General Augustin of the 23rd of last April obliged not only the employes of the state and municipality to take up arms, but also the Spaniards born here, and that in the first epoch of the Filipino revolution they formed armed volunteer corps which, while guarding the towns, made arrests, tortured the prisoners, executed defense- less citizens, or joined the regular soldiers to fight against the revolutionists. "General, read carefully the local papers from the time the revolution began and you will see there the proof of what I say. The pages of said papers are indispu- table evidence of the military services rendered by the civil employees of the Spanish Government and the com- pensation received by them as premiums for their serv- ices. With these antecedents is there room for the least argument that the Spanish civil employes should not be held as prisoners? 'The same, if not worse, can be said of the priests. The latter, degrading their office, transformed from servants of the Lord to feudal lords and supported by the Span- ish Government, were absolute masters of the lives, lands and honor of the Filipinos. *Tt seems incredible that those who should raise their prayers to stop so much cruelty and infamy committed by the Spanish Government, those who should give themselves over to reclusion and mortification and pen- ance for such crime, were precisely those who took part in the affairs, and with base insinuations, with infamous accusations and ideas of vengeance, increased more and more the pyre of the dead, and the defamatory charges through which were sacrificed precious and innocent lives and the honor of many citizens. "Again, vengeance does not move me in treating these ecclesiastics as prisoners of war. I conform to the prin- ciples of international law advanced by yourself, for, apart from the abuses committed by the priests, to which I have referred in my last letter, and the facts that I add in my present one, you are informed that they have taken up arms against the revolution; as, for example, RELEASE OF FRIARS REFUSED. 269 the priests (parocos), of the town of Lipa, province of Batanzas, who made themselves leaders of volunteer corps. In Manila during the siege of the town by your forces, all the ecclesiastics, organized and uniformed, formed a part of the municipal armed guard, and all of them you may be sure have lent their directive and ef- fective co-operation to the forces that fought against the Filipinos, not only maintaining at their expense armed bodies, but accompanying them in their expe- ditions as well as inciting them to battle. *The convents have been the most impregnable de- fences where the Spanish combatants, together with the priests, shielded themselves in order to attack the revo- lutionists, and this government preserves quite a num- ber of muskets taken from the ecclesiastics." Archbishop Nozaleda's "pastoral" calling upon all classes of the people of the Philippines to "rise and kill the American heretics," told the tale. "The principles of international law sustained by the most noted authors were taken into account by me when I treated as prisoners of war civil employes and the priests. Jiore, Martens, Bluntschli, and others hold that all persons, though not forming a part of the army, but who follow it to perform their pacific functions, can be held as prisoners of war. I only exempt the hospital personnel, according to the Geneva convention, provided that they take no active part in the war. * * * 'Tn virtue of the right of retort, during the war of North American independence, the great Washington, to avenge the shooting of an American colonel, a prisoner in the hands of the English, deemed beyond the rules of war the English Colonel Argyll, a prisoner held by the Americans. Thanks to the intervention of the Queen of France, the order was not executed. In virtue of the same right, the German generals in the war of 1870 ordered the houses in which their soldiers had been treacherously attacked to be fired and destroyed." This letter shows how carefully they had studied Amer- 270 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. ican and European history among the Filipinos for pre- cedents and examples. It also shows an ability in logical argument and reasoning well worthy of the utmost respect from all intelligent people. It ends as courteously as it could: ''I close this letter, begging you to pardon the trouble that its perusal will cause you. '1 remain, your most respectful servant, ''Emilio Aguinaldo." Following this letter, on the 28th page of General Otis' report, and the 49th page of Senate Document No. 208 of the 56th Congress, is this statement: *'An answer was drafted in part, but never delivered. It recited the fact that the discussion of the subject had reached proportions never contemplated; that I was not authorized to intercede for the release of the civil offi- cials, and that my requests had been limited to priests or ministers of religious bodies," etc. On page 29 of his official report General Otis states: "I had been reliably informed that Aguinaldo contemplated, or had prom- ised influential Filipinos to release the minor civil officials, but that the temper of the people was such that he could not let go the members of the religious orders held in captivity." He did let the other ^prisoners free as promised, a little later, as reported. Upon pages 321 and 322 of Senate Document No. 62 is a letter from Consul Williams to Mr. Cridler of the State Department at Washington, dated Manila, P. I., March 27th, 1898, in which he writes in part thus: "Barbarities are reported as daily practiced, such as placing prisoners and suspects in black hole dungeons in the walls of old Manila, so placed that with rise of tide prisoners are drowned, several hundred reported to have so perished. Cruelties too horrid for an official report are detailed to me every day, and it seems that the cry of outraged humanity would soon compel Spain to abol- SPANISH ATROCITIES. 271 ish Middle Age methods of warfare. Christian nations are such only in name when such atrocities as daily blacken the calendar are known to be perpetrated here and no effort made to protect the weak. There is to-day no Christian nation — policy and mock diplomacy govern all; the vilest cruelties of war are added to the man- gling of old men, women and children to make full the measure of iniquity. "The American Indians would not permit one of their tribes to practice such barbarities. Why should so-called Christian nations decline to call a halt upon Spanish outrages? Oscar F. Williams, "United States Consul, Manila." We could quote many more official letters telling of these horrors, but we believe this one will be sufficient to confirm Aguinaldo's statements as to cruelties. An Associated Press dispatch dated Washington, Feb- ruary loth, 1899, states the following concerning that matter : "From letters written to Major-General Otis by Aguin- aldo, obtained to-day from Senor Luna of the Filipino junta here, and a brother of Aguinaldo's minister of war, it appears that General Otis threatened Aguinaldo with arrest if he persisted in his refusal to release Span- ish civil functionaries and monks held prisoners by the insurgents. General Otis advised Aguinaldo to surren- der these people, and when Aguinaldo wrote explaining his reasons for holding them, General Otis made a strong request. Aguinaldo refused to comply and then General Otis made the demand for the release of the prisoners, and threatened to arrest Aguinaldo if he refused." The contest in this case reveals the Filipino position clearly. On page 29, of General Otis' official report, may be found a reply which he had prepared in answer to Aguin- aldo's letter of November i8th, 1898, concerning the holding of the Spanish priests and friars as prisoners of 2.^2 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. war, in which General Otis stated his understanding of the facts then as follows: 'It is understood to be the desire of the priests to return to Spain and not Hnger in the islands longer than is absolutely necessary, and it is conceded, I pre- sume, that, removed from the country, they will be pow- erless to aid Spain in its further efiforts to crush what it is pleased to denominate a powerful rebellion." This statement shows that General Otis had no idea at that time that the friars were to remain in the Philippines, but on the contrary, that they were only too anxious to es- cape from the islands, and the just vengeance of outraged humanity which they so well knew they merited. At the time that the Peace Commissioners for the Paris Conference were being selected and plans therefor formulated; Mr. Murat Halstead was visiting Manila and the Philippines, and reporting his impressions and ex- periences through the public press in letters of exceed- ing interest. From one of which we quote the following: 'The General's house was about as solid a structure as earthquakes permit, its roof of red tile instead of the usual straw. His rooms were in the second story, reached by a broad stairway, at the top of which was a landing of liberal dimensions and an ante-room.* * * We were soon admitted to an inner room with a win- dow opening on the street, and were told that the Gen- eral would see us directly. Meanwhile well-dressed ladies of the General's family passed through the audi- ence room from the General's personal office to the liv- ing rooms, giving a pleasant idea of domesticity. The door opened and a very slender and short young man entered with a preoccupied look that quickly became alert. An attendant said in a low voice, 'General Aguin- aldo.' He was unexpectedly small — could weigh little over lOO pounds — was dressed in pure white and his modesty of bearing would have become a maiden. The first feeling was one of compassion that one with such INTERVIEW WITH AGUINALDO. 273 scant physical resources should have to bear the weighty responsibilities resting upon him." -i^ * * "My first point in talking with Aguinaldo was that the people of the Philippines ought to be strongly rep- resented in Paris, and the reasons were briefly presented, the foremost being that they sought independence and should be heard before the commission, by which their fate would be declared for the present, so far as it could be, by a tribunal whose work was subject to revision." "I turned the conversation at this point to the main question of the future government of the Philippines, and inquired what would be satisfactory to the General, and got, of course, the answer, Philippine independence." ''' * * *'His words were equivalent to saying, his counselors must, in all matters of moment be consulted. It came to the same thing at last as to his commissioner or commissioners to Washington and Paris, one or both, and he introduced the purpose of having a congress elected to assemble at a railroad town — Morales, about fifty miles from Manila." h« * * "The action of the insurgents in removing their head- quarters, or their capital, as they call it, to a point forty miles from Manila proves that they have come to an un- derstanding that the soldiers of the United States are not in the Philippines for their health entirely, or purely in the interests of universal benevolence." * * * Lest any persons may be deluding themselves with the thought that the trouble between the friars and the Fili- pinos as led by the Freemasons from the first, and later on by their fellow fraternity, the Katipunans, was not well known to our government at Washington at the time of the Paris Peace Commissions' deliberations, we will quote a statement made before that time. Hon. Murat Halstead, having urged Aguinaldo to send envoys to Paris and Washington, to represent his 274 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. people there, asked him, as the head of the Filipino gov- ernment, what they wanted to have done with the priests. Mr. Halstead's letter, published far and near in papers of September 29, 1898, contained these statements: 'They (meaning Spanish priests), at least, have no hope of security if the Spaniards should regain the mas- tery of the islands." As to Aguinaldo's reply when asked what the fate of the priests would be if it devolved upon the Filipinos to decide, Mr. Murat Halstead wrote as follows : "I give the words of the interpreter: "The General says the priests to whom objection is made, and with whom we have a mortal quarrel, are not our own priests, but the Spaniards and those of the orders. We respect the Catholic Church. We respect our own priests, and, if they are friends of our country, will protect them. Our war is not upon the Catholic Church, but upon the friars, who have been the most cruel enemies. We cannot have them here. They must go away. Let them go to Spain. We are willing that they may go to their own country. We do not want them. There is no peace until they go." 'T said that my information was that the objectionable orders expressly proscribed by the insurgents were the Dominicans, Augustines, Franciscans and Recollects, but that the Jesuits were not included. This was fully recited to the General, and with his eyes closing and his mouth whispering close to the interpreter's cheek he gave his answer, quickly rendered: " The Jesuits, too, must go. They also are our ene- mies. We do not want them. They betray. They can go to Spain. They may be wanted there, not here; but not here, not here.' " In the same article Mr. Halstead stated: 'T was im- pressed that the eviction or extermination of the Span- ish priests was one of the inevitable results of Philip- pine independence — the first thing to be done." And he RELIGIOUS ORDERS MUST GO. 275 stated also: "Two hundred and fifty of them sought in vain to get passage to Hongkong on one boat." Show- ing how well aware they were of affairs. American inter- vention was then their only hope. CHAPTER XXXVn. TREATY OF PEACE AND TITLE TO THE PHILIP- PINES. Although, as advised by Americans, among whom were Major-General Wesley Merritt, at the time our Commanding General or Governor General of the Phil- ippines, and Consul Oscar F. WilHams, the only rep- resentative of the United States civil government in the Philippines, Aguinaldo sent commissioners both to Washington and Paris to represent the Filipinos, they were ignominiously ignored. No grosser violation of justice could be imagined, and Agoncillo filed a protest on behalf of the Filipino people. They were at once notified with the rest of the world, upon the completion of the treaty, of the clause requiring the release of the Spanish friars, as follows : [By the Associated Press.] "Paris, Nov. 29. — As the result of the work of Mr. Moore and Senor Ojeda, the draft of the articles embody- ing the protocol agreements was completed this even- ing. It will be presented to the two commissions to- morrow, in the morning, at their separate sessions, and in the afternoon at the joint session, when it will re- ceive final consideration. There will be little delay on these articles. "Mr. Moore will also submit to-morrow to the United States commissioners the subjects to be presented to the Spaniards for negotiations. These, for convenience and greater dispatch, are being drafted into the form of arti- cles. 276 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. 'The release of the insurgent prisoners held by Spain will go into the protocol agreements, it having been al- ready agreed that Spain is to release them on the United States undertaking to secure the release of the Spanish prisoners in the hands of Aguinaldo. This question is so intimately related to the peace treaty that it has been removed' from the subjects that are matters of negotiation and has been embodied in the articles containing the pro- tocol agreements." That clause alone would have forced the war which followed. The following are portions of a few of the articles in this "Treaty of Peace" between the United States and Spain referred to: ''Article i. Spain relinquishes all claim of sovereign- ty over and title to Cuba." * * * ''Article ,2. Spain cedes to the United States the island of Porto Rico and other islands now under Span- ish sovereignty in the West Indies, and the island of Guam, in the Marianas or Ladrones." "Article 3. Spain cedes to the United States the arch- ipelago known as the Philippine Islands," etc. Article 6 forms a mutual agreement whereby Spain and the United States are to release all prisoners of war taken by them, or in the hands of insurgents, both in Cuba and the Philippines, including, of course, the Span- ish friars in the Philippines held by the Filipinos. Article 3 of the Treaty of Peace concludes with this inexplicable and unwarranted clause: "The United States will pay to Spain the sum of twen- ty million dollars ($20,000,000) within three months after the exchange of the ratification of the present treaty." Thus the victorious country appears in -the absurd at- titude of paying an indemity to the vanquished, which could only be justified upon the ground of some acknowl- TITLE TO THE PHILIPPINES. ^"77 edged injustice in action, but, possibly, as an explana- tion, which does not explain the unexplainable, we find the following touching on this point, upon page 210 of Senate Document No. 62, part 2: "The American Commissioners are authorized to oflfer to Spain, in case the cession should be agreed to, the sum of twenty million dollars ($20,000,000), to be paid in ac- cordance with the terms to be fixed in the treaty of peace." Was it a bribe? So we appear to have paid Spain $20,000,000 for a title to a land which she did not possess, and could not deliver, her only claim to which had been founded upon bloody conquest, or ''criminal aggression" according to our President, already cut of¥ by the repossession of their own land by the Filipinos, fighting, as the Cubans fought, the same foe, for the same reasons; freedom from civil and religious tyranny ; and as our forefathers fought be- fore us for independence. In other words, we bought no better title to the Phil- ippines than Spain possessed, that of ''criminal aggres- sion," a war of conquest, "contrary to our code of morals," according to McKinley. The title to the Philippines which Spain received from the Pope was as baseless as would be such a title to the moon. Aside from that all the title to the Philippines which Spain possessed, at any time, was based upon bloody conquest only, or to use the apt words of Presi- dent McKinley, "forcible annexation that cannot be thought of," "that by our code of morals would be crim- inal aggression." The title of Spain to the Philippines had been forfeited by the same sort of conquest, or claim, to the Crown of England, in 1762, and the nonpayment of the redemption price, or promised ransom, of $5,000,000, for 278 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. whatever right, title or interest she may then have had in them, whether real or imaginary, by such right, is in reality thus vested in Great Britain still, if any right can accrue from such ''criminal aggression." As the Philippines and California were both depend- encies of Mexico, and as the title to California was lost to the Spanish Crown when Mexico freed herself from Spanish oppression, so some claim, that both actually and technically the legal title of the Crown of Spain to Mexico, California and the Philippines ceased simul- taneously. Upon pages 45 and 46 of his official report of August 31, 1899, General Otis incorporated a letter written by him on October 31, 1898, to certain foreign merchants in Manila who had complained of the interruptions to trade at that time. On page 46 he referred to the Spanish government in the central Philippines as ''A government almost in extremis mortis as certainly the Spanish Government in the central Philippine Islands must be considered to be at present." Months before that, as already quoted, according to General Anderson, ''We held Manila and Cavite. The rest of the island was held not by Spaniards, but by Filipinos. On the other islands the Spaniards were confined to two or three fortified towns. At the time referred to we had no claim to hold by purchase, for we had not then received Spain's quit claim deed to the archipelago." So whatever so-called right, title or claim, whether real or imaginary, just or tmjust, either of them or any others, may have ever held in the past, by any so-called right of conquest, had been completely abrogated by the subsequent repossession of their own native land by the TITLE TO THE PHILIPPINES. 279 Filipino people at the cost of priceless blood, untold agony, and countless treasure. But aside from or in addition to all this fallacy of title came that fatal defect, or flaw, or error as any one may choose to call it, to which that worthy Spaniard referred when he spurned the offer of $20,000,000 for the Philip- pines, which was really a mere mask for robbery, or only an apology for a great international, if not illegal, game of hold-up, with this ringing and deserved rebuke: [By the Associated Press, Paris, Nov. 22nd, 1898.] "Suppose," said the speaker in question, "that Spain says to the United States we are exhausted. We have no funds with which to continue the war. We do not want to continue it and we cannot. You serve us with an ultimatum. We must submit to your power. Pre- pare your treaty and when you want us to sign we will sign. We must bend to physical force. "You will have the Antilles and you will possess the Philippines as a conquest from a helpless people. We yield, but we decline $20,000,000 for property on which our valuation was not asked nor respected. You have your will. We trust you will not continue the war upon our helplessness because, forsooth, we decline your $20,- 000,000. Surely this waiver by us of your money will not provoke a further use of arms against Spain. "We sign, we cede, we are dumb. It is finished and we may be permitted to retain the privilege of assuring our people and our national creditors that we at least have not stolen and resold territory we had pawned." Had we been half as frank, as we were unfair, or as honest in profession as we were dishonest in dealing, it might not have seemed quite as disgusting in history as our cloak of "humanity" — with which we tried to cover our hypocrisy, or our pretense of Good Samaritan- ism in behalf of robber politicians, financiers and friars. When we proved false to our noble professions of hu- 28o THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. manity or philanthropy, and followed the lead of leech- ing friars and vampire politicians, turning our crusade for freedom in Cuba into a bloody war of conquest in the Philippines, we fell from the heights of a heavenly mission and plunged with American mercenaries into the depths of a hellish greed, that would drag any na- tion, no matter how noble in its instincts or how lofty its intentions, down to the deepest disgrace. Mr. Lincoln must have had a prophetic vision when he spoke the following words in Springfield, HI., on Feb- ruary 22, i860: "He is a great friend of humanity, and his desire for land is not selfish, but merely an impulse to extend the area of freedom. He is very anxious to fight for the liberation of enslaved nations and colonies, provided al- ways they have land, and have not liking for his inter- ference. As to those who have no land and would be glad of help from any quarter, he considers they can afford to wait a few hundred years longer. He knows all that can possibly be known; inclines to beUeve in spiritual rappings (who blames Providence?) and is the unquestioned inventor of 'Manifest Destiny.' ('Destiny determines duty.') His horror is for all that is old, par- ticularly 'Old Fogy,' and if there be anything old which he can endure it is only old whisky and old tobacco." — (Canteens and cigars.) Destiny does not determine duty, as Mr. McKinley declares. Duty determines destiny, or it ought to. Do right and all will be right. Do wrong and all will go wrong! AMERICAN FRIENDSHIP FOR FRIARS. 281 CHAPTER XXXVIII. FILIPINOS RESENT AMERICAN FRIENDSHIP FOR FRIARS. General E. S. Otis, on page 164 of his official report as United States Military Governor of the Philippines, dated Manila, August 31, 1899, after reviewing the op- erations in those islands for the preceding year, in sum- ming up the situation near the close of this document, declares : "The disanected element of the population, or the emissaries of Aguinaldo's government, contend that the United States has given nothing substantial as yet in response to its administrative promises. The archbishop, they declare, still holds political sway, the friars have not been driven out nor killed, the Spaniards have been continued in office, the chief representative of United States authority here (who has never witnessed Roman Catholic ceremonies a dozen times in his life), is an ardent Romanist and draws inspirations from the drop- pings of the Roman Catholic sanctuary, as set up in the Philippines. Remove these abominations, they say, and we will willingly accept United States protection and supremacy." This is the testimony of our first Governor-General of the Philippines after the Treaty of Peace had provided for the protection of the friars by our army and navy. This official statement is the clue to the situation there. Upon page 590 of Senate document No. 62, Mr. Fore- man's statement regarding the rebellion of 1896 may be found as follows: 'The movement had for its object (i) the expulsion of the monastic orders;" then he goes on to give other reasons for the uprisings, but this was the first and foremost reform demanded, the national issue. General Otis' official report confirms Mr. Foreman's evidence, as does every demand made by the Filipinos since that time. 282 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. The first Philippine issue is virtually then, whether the Spanish friars should return to Spain with the other representatives of Spanish oppression, or be reinstated by the American Government against the will of the Phil- ippine people by state intervention contrary to constitu- tional statutes. The first amendment to the Constitu- tion reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free ex- ercise thereof." Almost the entire Catholic population of the Philip- pines have protested against the return of the Spanish friars to their former parishes, backed by American bay- onets. To show how the Filipinos feel in regard to the atti- tude of our government upon this, to them, all impor- tant issue, we quote the following: "Copyright, 1899, by the Chicago Record. "Paris, May 23. — A Manila correspondent of Le Temps says in to-night's issue: "The intimate relations be- tween Gen. Otis and Archibshop Nozaleda are in the highest degree irritating to the Filipinos, who believe that this means that if the Americans triumph the relig- ious order will again gain a foothold in the archipelago. Spain largely owes the loss of the Philippines to this prelate." "Copyright, 1898, by the Chicago Record. "Paris, June 9. — I have already called attention once or twice to the use made by the European Filipinos against the Americans of the pretended good relations between the United States and the religious orders in the Philip- pines. Agoncillo, who is still in Paris, says on this point : "A campaign on the part of the United States in favor of so-called religious liberty in the archipelago is as impolitic as it is fooHsh. There is no danger on this score. We simply want the monks to pay their taxes AMERICAN FRIENDSHIP FOR FRIARS. 283 like everybody else. We struggled against Spain for the very purpose of escaping the tyranny of these priests." To substantiate the foregoing statement we quote the 5th Article of the Constitution of the Philippine Repub- lic, adopted at Malolos, by their Constitutional Assem- bly on January 21, 1898, as follows: 'The state recog- nizes the equality of all religious worships, and the sep- aration of church and the state." Page 108 of Senate document No. 208, records of the 56th Congress. **[By the Associated Press.] ''Manila, July 23, 1899, 6:15 p. m. — A Filipino priest named Gregorio Agripay, with the insurgents, is trying to lead a movement for the independence of the church in the Philippines from the Spanish priesthood. He has issued a proclamation declaring himself the vicar gen- eral of all the Filipino priests in the districts outside of American control on the island of Luzon, and is inciting the priests to disobey the regulations of the church and brotherhoods. The archbishop of the district has issued a bull excommunicating Agripay, and this action has in- creased the feehng between the Filipinos and the church. "The Dominican friars have begun the publication of a newspaper under the title of the Libertas, for the pur- pose of defending the brotherhood." On page 164 of his official report of August 31, 1899, General Otis, after referring to what he terms "the disfifected element" among the Filipinos, states in sum- ming up as follows: "Secretly these same critics assert that these friars and Spaniards render valuable aid to the insurgents' cause in many ways and the number of Spaniards officering their troops is strong proof that their assertions are cor- rect." However that may be, evidently the Filipinos felt that General Otis was a friend of the friars, and as such, a foe of theirs, as can be seen from the following dis- patch : 284 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. "Copyright, 1899, by The Chicago Record. "Madrid, Oct. 2. — According to dispatches from the PhiHppines, Filipinos who have returned to the interior from Manila declare that General Otis is a warm friend of the Spanish archbishop of Manila, and that by allowing Spanish priests to preach against Protestants and Prot- estantism he encourages the natives and discourages the American soldiers." As he represented the American government, it was perfectly natural that they should hate it, as friendly to their foes. On August 10, 1899, Archbishop Ireland, upon his return from Europe, said in a press interview for pub- lication: "I found that the Roman Catholics in Europe be- lieved the interests of the church would be much bet- ter guarded in the Philippines by an American than by a native government, and that it was considered to the best interests of the church that this country speedily settle its troubles there and establish a stable govern- ment. This country must settle that difficulty with haste, however, for the sake of the good opinion of Europe. I came home with the idea that unless we were speedily successful there, Europe would hold that we did not know how to handle our outside possessions. The fact that we have not been able to release the Spanish pris- oners held by Aguinaldo has caused a bad impression." So it would seem then that this war was being fought for "the best interests of the church," in general, and the freedom and benefit of the friars in particular. From the Chicago Record of Monday, August 21, 1899, we quote the following as authentic upon our sub- ject: "Jacob Gould Schurman, United States commissioner to the Philippines, arrived in Chicago yesterday morn- ing from the islands of which he has just completed a six PRESIDENT SCHURMAN'S EVIDENCE. 285 months' study at the instance of President McKinley. In his apartments at the Auditorium yesterday he said: ''So far as the results of my official negotiations with the representatives of Aguinaldo or other Filipino offi- cials are concerned, I am not at liberty to talk of them till I have made my report to the President. Concern- ing the islands in general, however, there is much to be told. In my opinion the rebellions the last of which we are trying to suppress were due in the first place to several causes, the principal of which were the tyranny of some of the reHgious orders, the exercise of arbitrary power by the governor-generals and the delay and cor- ruption of justice. In these matters the Tagalos suf- fered most, because they were most numerous in the dis- tricts near Manila, where these abuses were most prev- alent. *'I am credibly informed that the practice of bribery was so prevalent that justice could not be obtained and that governor-generals have been accused. Any Tagalo who was considered a dangerous character or who was designated as such could be deported and had no re- dress. Tyrannical Spanish priests who were taken pris- oners are now paying the penalty for their treatment of the Tagalos by being subjected to the greatest indigni- ties." It is to be seen at a glance over Dr. Schurman's state- ments that they fully confirm those of our Roman Cath- olic authority, Mr. John Foreman, from first to last, giv- ing to them the seal of official information from the Phil- ippine Commission. Thev have since become of record officially. CHAPTER XXXIX. INTERESTS OF THE ROMAN HIERARCHY IN THE ISLANDS. That the Roman Catholic hierarchy has taken a very active interest in our Philippine affairs cannot be ques- tioned, in the light of the following: 286 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. [Special Cable to the New York Journal and the Chi- cago Tribune.] ''Rome, Aug. 27. — Pope Leo is deeply concerned about the war in the Philippines, and has communicated his anxiety to the Rev. Father Reaney, chaplain of the Olympia. He expressed a strong desire to see peace established between the United States and the natives, and said that he contemplated the opening of negotia- tions with the United States government with a view to regulating the position of Catholics in the Philippines. *'We have a firm hope," he said, "that the Philippines will enjoy prosperity under the protection of the United States." From The Detroit Evening News, September 21, 1899. ''Washington, Sept. 20. — Cardinal Gibbons had half an hour's conference with the President to-day. Further than to admit that the conversation related to the situa- tion in the Philippines, Cardinal Gibbons declined to state. It is known that the cardinal came by appoint- ment. A few of the Catholic clergy have been much exercised by the reports of destruction of church prop- erty in the Philippines by American soldiers, and it is presumed this, together with other subjects relating to the Catholic church in the Philippines, was discussed. From the Chicago Tribune, December 27, 1899. "Washington, November 27 (1899). — Cardinal Gib- bons has decided to take a house in Washington for the winter, and his arrival is anxiously awaited by the Roman Catholic circle, which embraces two members of the Supreme Court, several Senators, a sprinkling of Representatives, and a large number of diplomats. It seems to be generally understood that the Cardinal's de- cision to spend a season in Washington is not entirely due to social reasons, but it is believed to be the begin- ning of a vigorous campaign to preserve to the church some of its exemptions and privileges in Porto Rico and the PhiHppines. It is admitted on all hands, of course, that church and state will have to be severed in the new INTERESTS OF ROMAN HIERARCHY. 287 colonies, but the problem of how to do this fairly is a perplexing one. "The Catholic church has been intimately connected with the Spanish crown for centuries, and the Catholic missionaries who accompanied the old conquerors laid the foundations for vast temporal possessions, so that the church has at stake great interests, even in the way of dollars and cents. Several of the American prelates believe that the church will prosper more from volun- tary benefactions than from the old system of legalized contributions. They are chiefly concerned about the pos- sible interference with vested interests and old titles to actual holdings rather than revenues. Cardinal Gibbons' mission, therefore, is supposed to be to keep a sharp eye on the progress of legislation as far as it relates to the Philippines and Porto Rico, and even to Cuba as well, for it is admitted the United States will exercise a military protectorate over that island for an indefinite time, and the rights of the clergy there are a matter of history. In the Philippines the insurgents have already pronounced against the monastic orders, and as for the Cubans they were formally denounced by the church with bell, book and candle. The result is that the churchmen depend more on the liberality of the Americans than on the waning loyalty to the church of the natives of the captured islands. 'Tt is admitted by members of the administration that the disposal of the church property and the peaceful sev- erance of its antiquated privileges and immunities with- out injustice will be one of the most serious and possibly the most hotly contested questions to come up before Congress." "Copyright, 1899, by The Chicago Record. "Rome, December 11. — I am informed on excellent A'atican authority that Pope Leo will strongly support the protest of the American episcopate to President Mc- Kinley against the spoliation of Roman Catholic churches in the Philippines by American soldiers." For those interested in this issue we quote the {qIIow- 288 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. ing, from the proclamation of Major-General Wesley Merritt, issued upon the occupation of Manila by the United States forces, August 14, 1898, and published as widely as possible -in accordance with the directions of the President at Washington: **VI. All churches and places devoted to religious worship and to the arts and sciences, all educational in- stitutions, libraries, scientific collections, museums, are so far as possible to be protected. * * * Severe pun- ishment will be meted out for all violations of this regu- lation." This proclamation may be found in full upon pages 86 and 87 of Senate document 208, of the 56th Congress, and in this connection we ask attention to the following to be found in a letter from General King in the Chicago Record, of May 13, 1899, which may put a different phase upon this particular question in the minds of some : "He implored us to respect the holy character of his innumerable churches, and he made the very altar his arsenal — stored his Mausers and cartridges under the image of the crucified Savior and crammed the church itself with fighting men when the hour of outbreak came. Dozens of our wounded, drifting back to the hospitals, and of our officers and orderlies riding to and fro among the buildings they had preserved and protected were shot down from within the walls of the sanctuary." It is remarkable that while his holiness is ready to pro- test against the desecration of church edifices by the United States troops, he has never been heard to utter one word of protest against the outraging of humanity by the Spanish friars for the past three centuries. The violation of woman's honor and the abrogation of human rights are believed to be far more grievous in the eyes of God, than the desecration of any temples, convents, or monasteries of wood or stone, and as to the INTERESTS OF ROMAN HIERARCHY. 289 latter we call attention to Aguinaldo's letter to General Otis of November 18, 1898, in which he wrote, in part, as follows, in reply to the assertion that the friars could not be held as prisoners of war in accordance with the requirements of international law: "In Manila during the seige of the town by your forces, all the ecclesiastics, organized and uniformed, formed a part of the municipal guard, and all of them, you may be sure, have lent their direct and effective co-operation to the forces that fought the Filipinos, not only maintaining at their expense armed bodies, but accompanying them in their expeditions, as well as inciting them to battle. The convents have been the most impregnable defenses where the Spanish combatants together with the priests shielded themselves." In the Manila Freedom of July 14, 1899, at the head of the ''Local" column, on the 8th page is the following statement: *'It is said that the authorities will soon commence an official investigation of the land titles held by the dif- ferent religious orders in the archipelago." A little later appeared the following press dispatch : "Copyright, 1899, by The Chicago Record. ''Manila, September 18. — The Filipinos are circulating petitions for signatures which are addressed to President McKinley and which ask him to expel the friars and the archbishop of Manila from the island. The Filipinos claim that the presence of the churchmen is a menace to their interests." Then this followed: (By the Associated Press.) "New Orleans, La., September 25, 1899. — ^Archbishop Chappelle of New Orleans has been officially notified by Cardinal RampoUa that Pope Leo XIIL has appointed him apostolic delegate for the Philippines. The new and responsible office has been conferred on the archbishop 290 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. by the pope of his own movement and has come as a surprise to the archbishop. He will still remain apostolic delegate for Cuba and Puerto Rico as well as archbishop of New Orleans." Still later by the Associated Press the following an- nouncement was made: (By the Associated Press.) "New Orleans, La., October 11, 1899. — Archbishop Chappelle, papal delegate to the Philippine islands, to- night gave out his first interview regarding his important mission. 1 have talked over my mission thoroughly with President McKinley," he said, "and we understand each other. My errand is one of pacification. I hope to ac- complish what the army of the United States has failed to do — to bring peace to the islands. I am hurrying the arrangements for my departure regardless of all else, and will leave at the earliest possible opportunity. I feel that I will be successful in what I am going to try to ac- compHsh. " 'I have received no notification that confiscation of church property in the islands is intended. The property of the church in the Philippines is private property, as much so as the possessions of any individual citizen of the United States. This talk about superfluous holdings amounts to nothing. This government is in possession of my plans and I will work in accord with the govern- ment.' " We wish to call attention to a few facts as announced in the following press dispatches of import to all inter- ested: (By the Associated Press.) "San Francisco, Cal., December 3. — Mgr. Chappelle, archbishop of New Orleans and apostolic delegate to Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines, arrived here to-day, en route to Manila, where he goes to arrange church affairs to conform with the change of government in the Philippines. He will sail on the transport Sher- man, which is scheduled to leave next Tuesday. THE KIRKMAN INCIDENT. 291 "Mgr. Chappelle will be accompanied from this city by Chaplain W. D. McKinnon." The following taken from the Chicago Tribune of April I, 1900, was dated Washington, D. C, March 31, 1900, and may be of interest to many: ''General Otis to-day advised the War Department that Major George O. Kirkman, of Illinois, has been court- martialled and dismissed from the army. Kirkman, who was a major of the Forty-ninth Infantry, was charged with insulting Archbishop Chappelle, when under the influence of liquor, while the archbishop and Major Kirk- man were crossing the Pacific on a transport about three months ago. According to this story, the major hung his blanket out to air so that it obstructed the view from the archbishop's window. The archbishop is said to have protested against this discourtesy and complained that his light and air were cut off, and, as the story goes, Major Kirkman replied in strong language that it was no concern of his whether the archbishop was made un- comfortable or not. Other slights and insults, it is as- serted, according to the story, were given by Major Kirkman, which the archbishop bore without complaint on the way across the ocean. On reaching Manila the priest was met by several officers, who invited him to proceed by steam launch to the city. *Tt seems this precedence astonished Kirkman, who had not been aware that the duties of the archbishop were official. Evidently the insult was reported to Gen- eral Otis and the court-martial followed." This is not the first nor the only instance where a federal officer has fallen before the wrath of the friends of the friars, whether innocent or not. We find the following in an editorial of The Manila Freedom for August 2, 1900, regarding this affair: ''One of the last acts of the late Congress was to restore George W. Kirkman to his rank in the regular army, that of Captain. * * * His gallant services at El Caney, 292 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. and his previous good character helped to win the day for him. * * * The act provides for rank, pay and allowance from the date of his dismissal, and it is just." We know nothing of the merits of the case personally. From mid-ocean the following special came to 'The Chicago Record," concerning Mgr. Chappelle, en route to the Philippines: "Honolulu, January i, via San Francisco, Cal., Janu- ary 8. — When Archbishop Chappelle, apostolic dele- gate to the Philippines, passed through here on the Cop- tic for Manila, it was stated by passengers who were on the vessel with him and who stopped off here, that his mission was not alone a spiritual one, but that he went to adjust on behalf of the church the question of land titles and church property titles under the new regime. The precise question he is to settle is said to arise out of the claim of the church to an original fee simple title to all of the land in the Philippines derived from grants made in aid of missionary work by sovereigns of Spain cen- turies ago. ''As a compromise and settlement of these claims it is said that the archbishop has an agreement with Presi- dent McKinley whereby, in consideration of $20,000,000 worth of property to be selected by the archbishop for which a clear and unincumbered title is to be given by the United States, the church is to waive all claims to title to any other property or land in the Philippines. The archbishop is to select the property he wants the church to retain. "On account of the existence of the bubonic plague in Honolulu the Coptic did not come into the harbor nor did the archbishop or any other through passengers come ashore, so there was no opportunity to verify these state- ments as to the archbishop's mission from his own lips." The day after came the following from Manila: "(By the Associated Press.) "Manila, January 2, 6:45 p. m. — Archbishop Chappelle, the papal delegate to the Philippines, arrived here to- INTERESTS OF ROMAN HIERARCHY. 293 day on the United States transport Sherman, which sailed from San Francisco, December 8. It is said that the friars are striving to secure Mgr. Chappelle's ear for the purpose of securing better protection for individual in- terests. The arrival of the papal delegate directs atten- tion to the question of the church and the brotherhoods in the PhiHppines, including the matters of deciding the brotherhoods' claims to real estate and other property of the church receiving state support and of the re-establish- ment of Spanish curates in native parishes. "By the appointment of Mgr. Chappelle as Archbishop Nozaledas' successor the Filipinos and Spaniards feel that steps will be taken in these momentous matters which may bring infinite good or evil to the islands. Consequently, Mgr. Chappelle's actions will be closely watched and fully discussed. ''Revolutionists having started the rumor that Mgr. Chappelle intends eventually to recommend the appoint- ment of Father McKinnon as archbishop of the Philip- pines, the latter's defense of the brotherhoods in the American newspapers has been translated and circulated among the natives for the purpose, it is declared, of show- ing that Father McKinnon will support the brotherhoods if he is selected." In this same connection the following statement was made public in The New Orient of Manila, November II, 1899, concerning Father McKinnon, the first Ameri- can Superintendent of Education, Charities and Ceme- teries in the Philippines, and the feeling of the Filipinos in regard to him and his rumored candidacy for the archbishopric of Manila: "The Rev. Father McKinnon, who did signal service for the Americans in Manila, while chaplain of the Cali- fornia regiment, is apparently a candidate for the Manila archbishopric, which will be left vacant when the present incumbent. Dr. Nozaleda, departs for Spain, as an- nounced some time ago through the columns of the press. 294 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. ''Agoncillo, the foreign emissary of the PhiHppine re- pubHc, is going to Rome to file a protest against the ap- pointment of Father McKinnon. Agoncillo desires to designate ^ prelate for the Manila diocese. It is very probable that Agoncillo will not receive a hearing from the Pope. All his missions so far to the various capitals of Europe have been abortive, and his present task will not affect the result." CHAPTER XL. EDUCATIONAL AFFAIRS IN THE PHILIPPINES. We call attention of all interested to the following offi- cial statement concerning education in the Philippines: On page 152 of his official report of August 31, 1899, General Otis states in regard to education: 'The higher education which the islands have hitherto enjoyed, as well as that of a minor character, has been entirely under the control of the religious orders and has centered in Manila. "The Dominican order, rich in landed estates, acquired through a series of years, inaugurating its educational poHcy under royal assistance, money contributions and decrees when the educational field was entirely in the possession of the clergy, and seizing on by degrees to the educational institutions and scientific schools organ- ized by the Jesuits under royal protection and conducted with funds from individual testators after that order had been driven from the islands, built up the University of Manila, and gradually incorporated in it these Jesuit foundations. Great effort was made to sever them from Dominican authority by recent Spanish statesmen of advanced ideas, but without success, and now the leading Filipinos demand that severance and a return to state supervision. Much time and labor in historical research has been extended by Lieutenant-Colonel Crowder of the law department in the investigation of these matters, and his able reports of past and present conditions and EDUCATIONAL AFFAIRS. 295 legal conclusions derived therefrom has so presented the subject that radical action can be taken in some in- stances, and has been determined upon. The archbishop of Manila, who I am informed is a member of the Dom- inican order, has served parol notice that he will stren- uously oppose such action, and has been invited to sub- mit his protest at an early date." General Otis was free to refer to the fact that the re- ligious orders have overruled education in the past, but he was silent as to the appointment of a priest favoring the friars as superintendent of public schools, charities, cemeteries, etc., in Manila. To illustrate the situation, we quote again briefly from Mr. Sargent's reference to education in the Outlook as follows : "Their education included those branches only, which were taught at the schools conducted by the priesthood at the capital towns of the provinces, and was of rather an impracticable nature. The Spanish language, Span- ish history, church history and the dead languages evi- dently formed its leading features." * * * 'The great mass of this population has been kept in an unenlightened state by deliberate legislation, which has effectually deprived them of every possible oppor- tunity for advancement. Those who have acquired edu- cation have acquired it at an extravagant cost that has placed it hopelessly beyond the reach of all but the wealthy." To be fair to the facts in the case, we wish to state that the agitation against the clerical control of educational affairs in the Philippines has caused a hopeful change in that regard, but this has brought out the most bigoted protest from friends of the friars. One circular sent out by their instigation in the name of German Catholics of Michigan reads as follows: ''We condemn as unnecessary, imprudent and brutal, 296 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. the imposition of our Godless public school system in the islands of Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philip- pines." * * * This is the very height of hypocrisy for the represen- tatives of the very church which has shut the Bible out of all our American schools, and made them the '*God- less" institutions they are, to turn and condemn others for their own wickedness. But they go much farther and add : *'We consider and condemn the action of Congress dictated by and passed in the interests of certain sects, by which all government support has been withdrawn from the Catholic Indian schools, which alone have proven their fitness to civilize the redman, as a breach of the nation's plighted word and high-handed and ignorant measure of crying injustice against the CathoHc Indians, to whom these funds rightfully belong by virtue of the treaties entered into between them and the government, based upon the concessions of land made to the Re- public." This is nothing more nor less than a bold demand for barefaced robbery, for if, as it acknowledges, the funds they call for "rightfully belong" to the Indians, these sectarians have no right to them whatever, and Congress does right to stop their robbery. They are trying to force upon the United States of America the same system that has ruined Roman Catho- lic countries, including Spain and the Philippines, and seem determined to rule or ruin our Republic. In this connection it is instructive to recall the fact that prior to 1896 the following declaration formed one of the planks in several Republican national platforms : "We reafifirm the declaration of the platform of 1876: "The public school system of the United States is the bulwark of the American republic, and with a view to its security and permanence, we recommend an amendment EDUCATIONAL AFFAIRS. 297 to the Constitution of the United States, forbidding the application of any public funds or property for the benefit of any schools or institutions under sectarian control." It was proposed to reaffirm this principle in the plat- form of 1896, but in June a St. Louis Globe dispatch stated as follows: "The following telegram was received by Chairman Carter of the National Committee from Archbishop Ire- land: 'To Thomas H. Carter, National Committeeman, St. Louis, Mo. *' The clause in the proposed platform opposing the use of public money for sectarian purposes and union of church and state, is unnecessary and uncalled for. It is urged by the A. P. A. Its adoption will be taken as a concession to them, will awaken religious animosities in the country, and will do much harm. The Republican party should not lower itself to recognize directly or in- directly the A. P. A. I hope the clause, or anything like it, will not be adopted. John Ireland.' '' Another dispatch declared: "The dispatch was referred by Chairman Carter (Roman Catholic) to Edward Lauterbach (Jew), of New York, and he, with National Committeeman R. C. Ker- ens (Roman Catholic) of this city (St. Louis), went be- fore the committee and succeeded in knocking out all reference to the church. The plank was thrown out." So it would seem that the same hand was on the helm in Manila in 1898, as held it in St. Louis In 1896. The following familiar looking news item appeared in the city news columns of the Chicago Record of May 9, 1900: "Archbishop Ireland Here — Archbishop Ireland, of St. Paul, was at the Great Northern Hotel yesterday. He was in conference during most of the day with R. C. Kerens, of St. Louis, Republican National Committeeman 298 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. from Missouri. The subject of the conference is said to have been the attitude of the administration toward Cuba, Porto Rico and the Phihppines with reference to the CathoHc church. Neither Mr. Kerens nor the arch- bishop would deny or affirm last night that the confer- ence pertained to this subject. 'I came to Chicago to at- tend to a personal matter,' said Archbishop Ireland." This shows that the foes of America's free schools are still alive, and that the friends of free education must be alert. The circular referred to states that "We are on the eve of troublous times, and therefore we most earnestly call upon all Catholic men to organize strongly, for if this is at all times useful, it has become an absolute ne- cessity in our day," which looks very much like a threat that they meant mischief. If our friends propose to put into operation this system of education and plunder, there are "troublous times" ahead. The Chicago Journal of September 6, 1900, contained the following: "The Catholic schools of Chicago have made an in- crease of 20,000 pupils over the attendance of last year. * * * -On every hand there is a growing tendency among Catholic parents to send their children to the parochial schools, where religious training is added to the secular and technical instruction. "According to Father Barry, chancellor of the arch- diocese of Chicago * * * each pastor has advised his people to send the children to the parish schools. * * * 'We tell the parents — and it is our duty to do so — that we are not responsible for the morals of their children if they are sent to the public schools. There they can receive no religious instruction, which is a far more important consideration than secular training. * "^ * The parents have a right to send their children EDUCATIONAL AFFAIRS. 299 to the city schools, but it is their bounden duty to send them to the parochial schools.' *At present the rumor is circulated that certain persons are making an effort to introduce into the public schools a supplementary reader containing selections from the bible. The school authorities, I am informed, have been approached in this matter.* We can not accept any such in- troduction of bible readings. The interpretations put upon these selected passages can not meet with the approval of all denominations and logically are dan- gerous.' " CHAPTER XLI. CENSORSHIP IN THE PHILIPPINES. We would again call attention in this connection to the testimony of our Roman Catholic Filipino, Mr. Ramon Reyes Lala, when he said: "By this I do not mean a propaganda against the Roman Catholic church, for I am a Catholic myself, and firmly believe that this religion is far better suited to the character of our people than any form of Protestantism. ''The monks have opposed every attempt at reform. Their policy has ever been the policy of ignorance, know- ing that their livelihood depended upon its perpetuation. It has been their aim, chiefly, to limit public instruction to the mere rudiments of knowledge — giving to every subject a religious bias. Even the colleges and the Uni- versity of Manila are not free from their narrow super- vision; while they ever maintained a rigid censorship over the press." To show that the enlightened Filipino leaders of to- day feel as Mr. Lala does we quote in this connection the following from an Associated Press dispatch : "Manila, December 22, 1899, 10 -50 p. m. — The news- paper Democracia, the organ of a coterie of Filipinos, including the Supreme Court judges favoring American 300 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. control in the Philippines, to-night announces that it has been decided to suspend publication. The paper was started at the suggestion and under the patronage of the Philippine advisory commission, headed by Prof. J. G. Schurman. The Democracia prints a single page in big type. In the statement accompanying the announcement of its suspension the editor says he has been directed by the provost marshal to retract certain criticism of the clerical methods adopted in regard to the management of schools, and adds: 'Recognizing the authority of the provost marshal, we have no recourse except to comply, and have decided to suspend publication until the present extraordinary conditions regarding press matters disappear. When we know what laws rule us, by what mode we are judged and to whose jurisdiction press matters are amenable, the Democracia will reappear." "The paper has generally been a warm supporter of the administration. The provost marshal recently threat- ened to suppress it for publishing an editorial asserting that Manila streets were in a worse condition under the American than they had been under Spanish adminis- tration. "The editor of the Manila Times was also recently warned, with an intimation of imprisonment and con- fiscation for printing an editorial recommending the cre- ation of a board of charity commissioners to control the charitable institutions, on account of rumors of misman- agement of charitable funds by the church authorities. "The newspapers complain bitterly that the authorities exercise a paternal supervision, threatening suppression, they claim, for trifling errors in the publication of news not connected with public matters. They also say the censorship handicaps newspaper enterprise by suppress- ing cable dispatches, received from respectable agencies, whose transmission is of an exceedingly costly character. The matter suppressed includes reports of government actions, among them being Philippine and American oc- currences which might give the Filipinos an unfavorable opinion of the United States." CENSORSHIP IN THE PHILIPPINES. 301 The following more recent report shows the situation as regards the censorship at Manila to be much more serious than most persons probably suppose, and one which would not be supported by any honest, liberty- loving American, as justice is impossible under a censor- ship system, and incompatible with republican institu- tions, save for military measures in time of war, this being for far different purposes, when it is officially claimed the Philippines are ''pacified." "(Correspondence of the Associated Press.) ''Manila, April 12. — The Manila editors and the cor- respondents of American newspapers here are hoping that the arrival of the civil commission will result in a reform of the present censorship methods. Cablegrams announcing the appointment of the commission were re- ceived by two of the Manila newspapers, but the censor forbade them to print this news. He has asserted that he suppresses only that news "inimical to the interests of the military government." "Frequent friction arose between the correspondents and the previous censor, while the Schurman commission was here, over messages relating to the commission, and there was sometimes much trouble in getting through news which the commission had given out for publi- cation. "The editors of the local newspapers complain bitterly and unanimously that the censorship as it is managed in- flicts upon them wholly needless hardships and great financial loss. The only Filipino paper which supported the American administration has suspended publication on acount of the censorship, and the editor of the oldest and most respectable and friendly Spanish journal an- nounces that he intends to close his business and leave Manila, because it is impossible to publish a newspaper under the restrictions imposed by the present govern- ment. "The editors argue that the publication of newspapers which support the government's policy, as all of the 302 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. Manila papers do, is an enterprise that should be en- couraged rather than harassed. That they pay almost prohibitive rates to secure cablegrams, that they are served by reputable and conservative press agencies and that their own financial interests lead them to instruct their correspondents not to throw away money on cable- grams which could not be published. They argue that no correspondent could possibly foresee that such news as labor strikes or the appointment of a commission to the Philippines would be considered inimical to the in- terests of the government, and that, moreover, the news which comes to them is not suppressed, but merely post- poned, because the Filipinos receive the leading news- papers from the United States and read them with the greatest care." The imprisonment of the editor of La Patria for publi- cation of articles objectional to the military government, illustrates a little of the paternal liberty bestowed upon the Filipinos at present, under pressure of the orders of foreign priests and friars. *'(By the Associated Press.) "Manila, March 26, 1900, 7 a. m. — La Patria and El Liberal, Spanish organs of the extreme Filipino party, have recently been publishing articles inimical to the military government. General Otis has suppressed the former journal for sedition and imprisoned the editor, at the same time issuing a warning to the members of the extreme party that they should observe greater mod- eration." But this is only a portion of the benefit the Filipinos are deriving from a free American administration. The following dispatch shows that their love of country and liberty can not be stifled by censorship of press or plays : ''(By the Associated Press.) "Manila, March 26, 1900. — During the production of an incendiary play entitled 'For Love of Country,' pre- CENSORSHIP IN THE PHILIPPINES. 3^3 sented in the Tagalo language at the Tagalo theater, the natives, under the influence of repeated references to in- dependence, became disorderly. "Finally, quite carried away at the sight of the rebel flag on the stage, they cried "Vive Filipinas" and *'Vive Aguinaldo." The police, who were summoned, restored order and arrested the manager of the theater and the author of the play. 'The latter is the proprietor of a Tagalo newspaper, which was recently warned to moderate its radical utter- ances. The American authorities had forbidden the pro- duction of the play." CHAPTER XLIL THE TREATY OF PEACE AND RELEASE OF THE FRIARS. But avoiding all further discussicm as to debatable or doubtful questions we ask attention to the following from Mr. John T. McCutcheon: Special Correspondence of the Chicago Record. "Manila, January 15, 1900. — All the section in which General Schwan was operating is historic ground, closely associated with the great revolution of 1896. Here Rizal, the Filipino martyr, seeing his family and his people be- ing plundered and outraged by the friars, their rents raised to extortionate figures and their lands confiscated for non-payment of rents, marriage fees raised so high that poor people could not marry, burial fees so great that the people were obliged to sacrifice almost all they possessed in order to have their dead interred in sancti- fied ground — here Rizal, a man whom we must admire, called on the people to rise against the avarice and in- justice of their oppressors. "That was back in the days long before Aguinaldo was a power. Rizal was a man of moderate wealth, who went through the College and University of Manila and then took degrees at Spanish and German universities. At 304 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. the time of his death he was the foremost ocuUst in the east and one of the greatest in the world. In 1888 he pubhshed a novel called 'Noli Me Tangere' ('touch me not'), which dealt with Filipino problems. At a later time, in 1892, he estabhshed the 'League Filipino,' for which he was banished to Mindanao. During the insur- rection of 1896 he was brought to Manila, where he was tried before a court-martial, charged with 'rebellion, sedition and unlawful association,' and executed. The prosecution charged him with agitation for 'indepen- dence,' but it is probable that if Rizal had dreams of in- dependence it was because he saw no other means of overthrowing the power of the friars. "In 1896, as in former rebellions, the one great idea and dream of the Filipino people was the expulsion of the friars. In the treaty of Biacnabato, in December, 1897, the Spaniards agreed to grant reforms and faithfully promised to have the friars sent away from the islands. Greater influences were at work, however, and the friars were never disturbed. With the violation of this treaty insurrection immediately began anew and Aguinaldo came back again in May, 1898. All the friars were cap- tured by the Filipinos, and for the first time in history the Filipinos turned the tables on their oppressors. Now, again, the scene is changed — the Americans have liber- ated the friars and the latter are eager to get back in the provinces to have their innings under the protection of American soldiers. And then the insurrection will re- ceive new life and the story of bloodshed will become more thrilling than ever. Those who are familiar with conditions in the Philippines cannot help but feel a deep sympathy with the Filipinos in their fight against the friars. In this sentiment, at least, all Filipinos, good and bad, are united. "The anniversary of Rizal's execution, December 30, is now observed as a national holiday among Filipinos. Out in the churches of the provinces they strike the bell an extra stroke at 6 o'clock in the evening. 'That's to the memory of Rizal,' they say." The day after Mr. McCutcheon wrote this letter, he RELEASE OF THE FRIARS. 305 sent the following special dispatch over his own signa- ture for the Chicago Record : ''Copyright, 1900, by the Chicago Record. ''Manila, January 16.— Archbishop Chappelle's recep- tion, where the bishop of Manila and three others as- sisted in receiving the guests, is occasioning much criti- cism among the Filipinos. "The popular interpretation of Mgr. Chappelle's pres- ence here is that he is President McKinley's agent, sent to rehabilitate the friars, hatred for whom is the Filipino national issue. "Less than half of the fifty Filipino families invited at- tended the reception, and some of them left the house when the bishop of Manila was discovered to be present." The next day the following Associated Press dispatch dated Manila, January 17, 1900, w^as published fully con- firming the former: "The presence here of Archbishop Chappelle, the apos- tolic delegate to the Philippines, is greatly stirring the Catholics of all nationalities. The FiHpinos have gained the impression that Mgr. Chappelle came as the joint agent of President McKinleyand the Pope to reinstate the friars in their former power. One cause of the excite- ment is a statement which the Dominicans furnished to the Spanish press that Mgr. Chappelle, in visiting the heads of the order, told them he favored the retention of the brotherhoods and that President McKinley shared his views, w^hich were that "if the friars returned to their parishes they would be considered elements of good order and therefore American agents." "Mgr. Chappelle denies the accuracy of these state- ments, and Catholics of all sections are petitioning Mgr. Chappelle and Major-General Otis against the friars re- turning to their parishes, repeating the charges of oppres- sions, extortions and immoralities, which, they assert, caused the revolution of 1896. The Catholics request that they be given priests not connected with the brother- hoods. Delegations from many of the towns are visiting 306 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. the provincial governors for the purpose of making the same request, and prominent Manila Catholics are cab- ling the Pope on the subject. The people say the friars will be driven out if they return to their parishes, and there will be continual trouble if the administration at- tempts to protect them. *To quell the excitement Major-General Otis con- sented to the pubHcation in the local newspapers of a statement which he had made to a delegation of FiHpinos, as follows: *If the church authorities assign to curacies friars who are obnoxious to the people they will not be compelled to accept them. The individual liberty guaranteed by the American constitution will not be denied the Filipi- nos, and the government will not force on them any ecclesiastical denomination contrary to their wishes.' '' These statements of facts show us that these Spanish friars have been the cause of the hostile situation in the Philippines both past and present, and that their threat- ened reinstatement and retention in their former Filipino parishes, backed by an American army, is the real cause of the continued contest there. Upon page 344 of Senate document, No. 62, are stated the terms of the Treaty of Biac-Na-Bato upon which the Filipinos promised peace in 1896: "i. The expulsion or at least the secularization of the religious orders." It is equivalent to the concluding clause adopted by the Filipino leaders in Manila on June 21, 1900, and re- ported by cable as follows: "Seventh — Expulsion of the friars. **The statement of the seventh (the concluding) condi- tion was vociferously acclaimed, the entire assembly shouting, 'Expel! Expel!'" The present war in the Philippines was and is princi- pally due to the agreement by the American government RELEASE OF THE FRIARS. 3^7 in the Treaty of Peace to guarantee the unjust and unwar- rantable release, return to and retention in the former Filipino parishes of these objectionable and pernicious foreign friars, the Spanish priests. Their religious-political friends deny this of course. This guarantee is given in the 6th and 9th articles of the Treaty of Peace between the United States and Spain. The 6th article contains the following clauses: (See Hnes 94 to loi, upon page 8 of Senate document. No. 62. part I of the records of the 55th Congress.) ''Spain will upon the signature of the present treaty, release all prisoners of war, and all persons detained or imprisoned for political offenses, in connection with the insurrections in Cuba and the Philippines and the war with the United States. "Reciprocally, the United States will release all per- sons made prisoners of war by the American forces, and will undertake to obtain the release of all Spanish pris- oners in the hands of the insurgents in Cuba and the Philippines." This article alone, the purport of which was published in advance to the world, through Associated and special press reports, was fatal to any possible peaceful solution of the Philippine problem, as the removal of these friars from the Philippines was what the Filipinos had long fought the hardest for. ''Remove these abominations," they say, "and we will willingly accept United States protection and suprem- acy," General Otis declares in his official report. To show how the American army has been and is still fulfilling the terms of this treaty in relation to releasing these friars, we quote from the special correspondence of the Chicago Record, by Mr. John T. McCutcheon again, under date of Manila, May 5, 1900, relating the expe- riences of a relieving expedition : 308 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. ''We started out of Baao in the middle of the forenoon. Now from Baao to Iriga is five miles — five miles of broad highway leading through pleasant places and by fair lands. One might easily imagine himself journeying through a garden or a park, for by the wayside there are many gay little cottages, buried among bright hedges and brilliant flowers, and in many places the road passes through long, shady tunnels of graceful cocoanut trees, which, waving gently, seem to fan the air to a refreshing coolness. *'Upon all sides there are evidences of care and cleanli- ness and thrift, for the Bicols are an industrious people, and they have made the broad valley beautiful to see and good to live in. Ofif beyond the forests of palms one occasionally catches a ghmpse of the great yellow stretches of. ripening grain reaching away for miles, like an immense body of water, and still on beyond this golden sea is the blue range of mountains, which runs from one end of Luzon to the other. Droves of fat Australian cattle graze in the fields and groves by the road, and bunches of agile goats scurry away from the highway as you pass along. The whole country seems serene in peace and plenty, and we soon realize more than ever why the Camarines had won their title, The Storehouses.' 'This was pleasant campaigning — this leisurely saun- ter of the invaders into the enemy's country. It was only fair that it should be pleasant, for all during the long, hot hours of the morning before those invaders had climbed up and down hills with the enemy in front and the blistering sun overhead, both of which were uncom- fortable and unpleasant. "Our column grew in number as it marched along. Friendly natives fell in with the procession; some in front with the advance guard, some trailing by the sides of the companies and others tagging along behind. ''At noon we reached Iriga, the most beautiful place in the Philippines — beautiful both because there are splen- did mineral springs there and because the insurgents had cleared out of town. A great many natives and Chinese RELEASE OF THE FRIARS. 3^9 came out to greet us, and over in the convent there burst salvos of •joyous cheers from the twenty-four Spanish friars who had just been Hberated. It was a glad occa- sion for them. "We also found about twenty-five Spanish prisoners who had escaped from the insurgents and had made their way successfully into Iriga. They flocked over to see the colonel and give him information regarding the whereabouts of the insurgents." These scenes are in striking contrast to the stories of terrible tortures in dismal dungeons to which we are told Spanish friars have been subjected by the Filipinos; but this account is confirmed from all sides by similar statements, that these friars were comfortably kept, fre- quently in their convents, and comparatively free to come and go, except that they were not allowed to escape through the lines to renew their former avocation as friars. Archbishop Chappelle stated on October 23, 1899, through the public press, over his official signature, as follows: "For the last eighteen months more than 350 friars have been undergoing unheard-of torture in insurgent dungeons." But to return to Mr. McCutcheon'^ account of their rescue: "Down in the plaza there was only part of the escort ready; none of the bull carts were hitched up and none of the friars had shown up. The latter had been espe- cially ordered by Coloner Dorst to be ready at 4, but they did not begin to make an appearance until 5. Some of them were mounted, some had secured quilezes, but fif- teen or eighteen were obliged to walk. "After the procession of soldiers, friars, Spaniards and bull carts were ready to march, Major Birkhauser caused another delay by forming the Spaniards in columns of 310 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. fours, a formation that they kept for not over five min- utes. "But it was a great procession when it finally did move. Many of the friars had rolled up their gowns to their waists, thereby obtaining good knee action for the long march to Nueva Caceres; others, weak and emaciated, staggered feebly along on foot, and others, husky and strong, rode their horses or journeyed comfortably along in their vehicles. A-policy of every man for himself seemed to be the ruling one with these friars. The Spanish soldiers trudged cheerfully along, picturesque in the costumes they had picked up around the country and the fantastic beards they had grown during their captivity. ''We were in Baao at 9 and a loud clamor for food went up from the friars. Colonel Dorst had sent a box of hardtack to ration them during their trip, and had cau- tioned them particularly to eat their breakfasts before starting from Iriga. This breakfast was to last them to Pili, where the hardtack would be issued. But no! they wanted the hardtack now. They had not eaten any breakfast and could go no farther until they had been fed. "Major Birkhauser explained to them the orders he had received from Colonel Dorst, but that did not abate their clamor for immediate food. " 'But if I give you the hardtack now you will have none in Pili, and you'll want it more then than you do now.' "The spokesrn^an of the friars said that they would pre- fer to eat now and worry later, and the Major gave or- ders to issue the hardtack to them. "At 10, blazing hot and dusty, the procession moved on again and by slow stages managed to reach Aldagan, the scene of the hill fight, at i o'clock. Here the soldiers stopped for bacon and hardtack and the friars stood near the little campfires, looking yearningly at the banqueters. "Just beyond Palestrina we stopped to rest our horses near a house in which an old Filipino lived. He came out and greeted us cordially, brought some young drink- ing cocoanuts, ofifered us vino and sent a boy out to get a bunch of bananas for us. When we refused his offer to RELEASE OF THE FRIARS. 3^1 have the boy carry the bunch into Nueva Caceres for us he was greatly surprised. Then he told us that he knew the Americans and liked them, for he used to buy hemp for the Boston firm of Russell, Sturges & Co. "This Filipino was a fine old man, although his hos- pitality was not unusual. The Filipinos are princes of hospitality. You may go into any of the rural sections and the people will offer you everything they have, show- ing keen pleasure if you accept their hospitality. It is only in the towns, when they come in contact with the soldiers, that this spirit is lacking and a grim sullenness takes the place of their natural cheerfulness. ''Just at dusk we rode into Nueva Caceres, very hun- gry, very tired, very sleepy, but glad that we had gone on the hike and glad that it was over. 'The insurgents all arrived safely and at 2:30 the next morning Captain Lee and his friars, Spaniards and bull carts came wearily into the town. "John T. McCutcheon." Under date of Manila, January 16, 1900, Mr. Mc- Cutcheon wrote of his experiences in Naic and his Fili- pino host there, a devout Catholic, as follows: "Our friend, the landlord and cook, was a man of con- siderable intelHgence. He was hospitable to the last de- gree, which is a marked characteristic of all Filipinos, and he was very sociable. He expected no pay for the bountiful entertainment that he provided for us and our ponies, and he was overwhelmed when we -compelled him to accept a liberal remuneration. "His house and land, he explained, all belonged to the friars. In fact, the whole town was owned by them. All the natives were obliged to pay heavy rentals for their property, and when they themselves improved it the friars promptly raised the rent. " 'Are the friars coming back?' he asked, anxiously, and when we said we didn't know he crossed himself de- voutly and said he hoped they never would." 312 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. CHAPTER XLITT. RETENTION OF FRIARS kx^^^.. ^^^n. The following special in the Chicago Record tells the tale: "Washington, D. C, April 12 (1900). — Private advices from the Philippine Islands report that Archbishop Chap- pelle is meeting with serious and perplexing obstacles in his efforts to reorganize and 'Americanize' the Cath- olic church there, because of the determination of the friars, who have hitherto controlled secular as well as religious afifairs, not to be Americanized, and the refusal of the people to tolerate them. The Papal legation here has heard nothing directly from that source. Dr. Chap- pelle is outside of its jurisdiction and under the immedi- ate orders of Cardinal Rampola, the Papal Secretary of State. In fact, in his work among the Philippines, he is independent of the sacred propaganda which has con- trol of the missionary work of the Catholic church throughout the world. He occupies a sort of diplomatic relation. He was sent to the Philippines as an ambassa- dor to recommend measures for the reorganization of the church, and receives his instructions direct. "The monastic orders have been all powerful in the Philippines, chiefly the Augustinian and Dominican monks. They have not only been the rectors of the parish churches, but have had charge of the schools and all other ecclesiastical affairs. The Jesuits have a university and an astronomical observatory, which has a high rep- utation among scientific men throughout the world. There have been a few secular priests, mostly natives, scattered among the different parishes, but they have usually been assigned as assistants to the friars, and have been without independent authority. The monks have also exercised almost absolute control over civil affairs, the Governor-General and other Spanish officials having been entirely under their influence. "By their oppression of the natives the monastic or- ders were the primary cause of the revolt against Spain, and since American occupation it has been reported fre- FRIARS FATAL TO PEACE. 313 quently that before peace could be secured the causes of the war must be removed, the evils of the Spanish regime abolished and the friars excluded so far as possible from control. President McKinley, recognizing this situa- tion, preferred that the reforms should be effected through the Roman Catholic authorities themselves rather than by the civil authorities, and for that reason Archbishop Chappelle was sent to the Philippine Islands with the peculiar powers I have described. 'The monks have been driven from the provinces by their former parishioners, and all who have not actually left the island are collected in Manila. They dare not go back without assurances of military protection, which General Otis has declined to give. Archbishop Chap- pelle has been overwhelmed with petitions, protests and remonstrances from all parts of the country against the restoration of the friars, who are hated not as priests, but as padrones, for keeping their parishioners in a state of servitude. General Otis has kept his hands ofif and has left Archbishop Chappelle entirely free to act accord- ing to his own judgment, although the General has re- fused to afford military support or protection to the friars. 'The situation has practically resolved itself into a re- ligious rebellion, and the people are now anxiously await- ing to see whether the church authorities wnll force upon them priests who are feared and detested." The following, from an Associated Press dispatch from the Philippines, confirms the truth of the last statement from Washington: [By the Associated Press.] "Manila, May 10 (1900). — The insurgents have suf- fered a heavy loss at Tabako, near Legaspi, province of Albay, Luzon Two hundred riflemen and 800 bolo- men were preparing to attack the town, and Captain Lester H. Simons, with a company of the Forty-seventh volunteer regiment, advanced to meet them and killed many. The insurgent leader, a native priest, was 314 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. wounded and captured after his horse had been shot under him. Three Americans were wounded." Not only on the field of battle, but in the parishes and papers of the friars, has it become a religious contest, ac- cording to the following Manila editorials, of same date as the foregoing: "Archbishop Chappelle started a paper in his diocese of New Orleans, and his paper has been publishing sad stories of the horrors of 'mixed marriages' between Prot- estants and Catholics. And now 'Libertas,' the friar or- gan in Manila, has been copying these tales of woe from Chappelle's paper. It is not easy to see how a CathoHc priest can know anything about marriage, or the motives of it, or the conditions that make it a success or a failure." "Archbishop Chappelle should remind 'Libertas' that newspapers ought not to meddle in religious matters — especially when they don't know how to do it well." "The friars' newspaper denies that the friars are op- posing the government; but it again asserts, in efifect, that the order of General Otis about civil marriage is not worth the paper, he wrote it on." It seems however, that the censorship has a hand in this fight, both on the battlefield and in the press, from the following: "Sr. Escalera and Sr. Delpan, of the Trogreso,' have been bound over in the sum of $50 each not to go fight- ing the reverend rascals of the 'Libertas,' and the two gentlemen publish an acknowledgment of the kindness of their brother journalists in raising the amount. It is comforting to know that there is so much money among newspaper men in Manila." We call attention to the following little straw to be found in the "City News" of the New Orient, under date of Manila, January 27, 1900, showing how the wind was blowing then: "A petition has been received by Archbishop Chap- CHAPPELLE FAVORS FRIARS. 315 pelle, signed by loi citizens of Malibay, and urging against the appointment of Spanish friars to their churches." It is both impossible and impoHtic to pubhsh all the fiery appeals of patriotic papers upon these points, but we give the following from the New Orient of Manila, of January 20, i960, which shows how the native Filipinos feel upon these all-important topics: "Since the arrival of Archbishop Chappelle the various Catholic adherents and supporters have been active, and old feuds, dislikes and hates have reawakened into life. The Spanish papers and people of Quiapo are up in arms protesting against the probable stay of the order of friars. '' 'La Patria' gives vent to some very unequivocal statements denouncing the order of friars in no uncer- tain terms. In the leading editorial an eloquent arraign- ment of the friars is given, and they are held up to pub- licity in the most uncompromising and uncomplimentary terms. The 'Grito del Pueblo,' the bi-lingual paper, printed in Spanish and Tagalo, also in a leader, scathingly denounces the friars for their past iniquities and vehe- mently protests against their retention, stating that the deep, undying hatred in which the Filipino people hold the friars will always be an unsurmountable obstacle to the peaceful organization and maintenance of the Catho- lic church. ''Archbishop Chappelle has already intimated that the friars will be retained. The Catholics of the district of Santa Cruz at once took alarm and labored hard in get- ting up a petition to be presented to the Apostolic Dele- gate, praying that their earnest protest should be heard, and the contemplated retention of the friars revoked. Not satisfied with petitioning Mgr. Chappelle, they also sent a petition to use his high office in unseating, per- manently, the friars. "While it is against the spirit and letter of the Con- stitution of the United States to interfere in religious difficulties, sooner or later the bitter strife now raging in 3i6 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. Catholic circles will invade the sanctity of the State De- partment and demand attention. From the evidence ob- tained it appears that the Catholic authorities wish to make the Filipinos accept exactly what they do not wish, and both sides are already asking the civil author- ity vested here to be the arbitrator of the church's future servants." The following Associated Press dispatch shows plainly how the Filipino people feel toward the friars : "Manila, January 24, 9 a. m. — Archbishop Chappelle, Papal Delegate to the Philippines, gave a reception to the Catholic clergy and laymen for the purpose of con- ciliating the opposing factions. Many prominent Fili- pinos attended, with a view of making a demonstration against the friars. They hooted Archbishop Nozaleda and every friar who appeared. "On the other hand, General Otis, who attended with his staff, was cheered. Mgr. Chappelle made a speech, asking for toleration and patience and promising a satis- factory settlement of the questions in dispute. He re- buked the newspapers for meddling with matters which he said they did not understand." On the same date the following letter appeared in the Chicago Record from its special correspondent at the capital: "Washington, D. C, January 23 (1900). — There is a complete understanding between the government and Archbishop Chappelle concerning church afifairs in the Philippines. He has gone there as the representative of the Pope for the purpose of reorganizing the Catholic church upon the same basis that exists in the United States, and General Otis is thoroughly informed of his mission and of the policy he is directed to pursue. There- fore there seems to be no occasion for any misunder- standing either by the natives of those islands or the people of the United States. There is no intention on the part of our government to confiscate or occupy with- ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS. 317 out fair remuneration any property belonging to the church, but the estates and other property belonging to the religious orders, or whose title is in the name of the Bishop, will be taxed like any other property. The only exception will be such property as is actually used for worship or for educational purposes. There wilf be no objection to the friars' remaining in the Philippines, pro- vided they do not interfere with political and civil af- fairs, and confine their activity exclusively to ecclesias- tical matters. The schools will be secularized, although there will be no objection to the establishment of Cath- olic schools, provided the church or the people prefer to maintain them. No public money will be given to the support of any sectarian institutions, either educational or benevolent, and the priests will not be allowed any other privileges or immunities than they enjoy in this country. In short, Archbishop Chappelle understands and agrees that there is to be an entire separation of the church from civil affairs and the same freedom of wor- ship and religious instruction that exists in this country." CHAPTER XLIV. CHAPPELLE SEEKS TO RE-ESTABLISH ECCLESIAS- TICAL COURTS. It seems that somehow there must have been a mis- understanding or mistake as to "reorganizing the Cath- olic church upon the same basis that exists in the United States," as the following cablegram would seem to indi- cate: [Copyright, 1900, by the Chicago Record.] "Manila, January 24. — The Filipino Supreme Court is strongly resentful toward Mgr. Chappelle, Papal Delegate to the Philippines, because he is making an at- tempt to bring about a reorganization of the ecclesiastical court. "Mgr. Chappelle declares that ecclesiastics should by right be brought only before an ecclesiastical tribunal. "John T. McCutcheon." 3i8 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. Mgr. Chappelle may be as much of a claimant as his friends the friars, but he cannot claim that ecclesiastical courts are allowed to usurp the place of civil courts in America, and it is claiming too much to say that they should elsewhere under our flag. To refer to the testimony of our Roman CathoHc authority, Mr. John Foreman, upon this point of eccle- siastical courts, as presented by him to the Paris Peace Commissioners, we turn to pages 589 and 590 of Senate Document No. 62 of the Fifty-fifth Congress and find the following: ''Manila is an archbishopric and there are six provin- cial bishoprics. The total number of parishes will be about 620, of which the friars hold about 95 per cent. As parish priest the Spanish friar is beyond all con- trol of the civil government. He can neither sue nor be sued. He is quite independent of all state authority. He may prove to be the vilest criminal with all impunity. His superiors would pretend to punish him, but they would never expel him; they are themselves sheep who protect their own lambs." To illustrate the kind of justice dealt out by ecclesias- tical courts in the Philippines in the past, Mr. Foreman has related the following incidents, which show how little regard these courts have had for any of the laws of justice, right or decency, and why all men ought to op- pose such an abhorrent institution, as all intelligent FiH- pinos do: "The mysterious deaths of General Solano (in August, i860) and of Tamora, the bishop-elect of Cebu (in 1873) occurred so opportunely for Philippine monastic ambi- tion that little doubt existed in the public mind as to who were the real criminals. When I first arrived in Manila, nearly twenty years ago, a fearful crime was being com- mented on. Father Piernavieja, formerly parish priest of San Miguel de Mayumo, had recently committed a ECCLESIASTICAL CRIMES. 319 second murder. His first victim was a native youth, his second a native woman. The public voice could not be raised very loudly there against the priests, but the scan- dal was so great that the criminal friar was sent to an- other province — Cavite — where he still celebrated the holy sacrifice of the Eucharist. Nearly two decades after- ward — in January, 1897 — this rascal met with a terrible death at the hands of the rebels. He was in captivity, and, having been appointed 'bishop' in a school diocese, to save his life he accepted the monk dignity, but, unfortunately for himself, he betrayed the con- fidence of his captors and collected informa- tion concerning their movements, plans and strong- holds, for remittance to his community. In ex- piation of his treason he was bound to a post under the tropical sun and left there to die. See how the public in Spain are gulled! In a Malaga newspaper this individual was referred to as a Venerable figure,' worthy of being placed high up *on an altar, before which all Spaniards should prostrate themselves and adore him. As a reli- gious man he was a most worthy minister of the Lord; as a patriot he was a hero.' " To continue Mr. Foreman's testimony so as to get an intelligent Romanist's idea of the friar of the Philippines, we quote again from page 590 of Senate Document No. 62: "He acts, however, as voluntary (and very willing) government agent. He meddles in every public affair of the township by recognized right. If he cannot have things all his own way and influence every public act, from the election of native headman downward, he sin- gles out for revenge all those who have outvoted him. And this is generally what happens, at one time or an- other, in half the parishes. If a young man who has been educated in Manila or Hongkong returns to his native town with somewhat advanced ideas, or merely salutes the priest as a gentleman instead of kissing his hand as his spiritual father, he, too, is marked for social ruin one day. The father of a family of attractive daughters has 320 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. also to be careful lest the charms of his offspring bring about his own fall. In short, in one way or another, the native who possesses anything worth having has either to yield to the avarice, lust or insolence of the Spanish priest, or to risk losing his liberty and position in life. The parish priest has simply to address what is called an 'oficio' (official advice) to the Governor of a province, who remits it to the Governor-General, stating that he has reason to believe that the individuals mentioned in the margin are persons of doubtful morality, or conspir- ators, or disloyal, or whatever he may choose to dub them, and recommend their removal from his parish. In due course a couple of civil guards will suddenly ap- pear at the door of each named individual. Without war- rant or explanation of any kind further than 'by order of the Governor,' he is marched ofif to the capital town and cast into prison. Later on he is sent up to Manila, and without trial or even defined sentence, he is ban- ished to a far distant island. ''In 1896 I met three old friends of mine on board a steamer, who were being transported in precisely similar circumstances. I could hardly believe my own eyes. They were well-to-do planters, and the last time I saw them prior to this occasion I was the guest of one of them in their town of Taal (Batangas Province). His well-served table, his carriage and horses, had been at my disposal. Now alas! I found these men treated as criminals, with iron anklets slipped on one iron bar and padlocked. They were on the upper deck, exposed to the rain, sun and heavy dews day and night. All I»could do for them was to secretly supply them with food and clothing. In the law courts nothing can be obtained with- out 'greasing the palm,' and then it only brings a sentence with a loophole for reopening the case when the judge likes. The same system of 'squeeze' obtains in all the government departments, from the half dollar slipped into the hand of the native scrivener to the thousand dollars or more quietly laid on the table of the dignified holder of the scales of justice. "From the preceding facts it may almost be surmised what are the causes of the rebellion. The movement had NOZALEDA'S DEMANDS. 321 for its object (i) the expulsion of the monastic orders, (2) the aboHtion of the Governor-General's arbitrary power to banish without accusation, trial or sentence, (3) restoration to the natives of the lands held by the reli- gious orders, (4) a limitation of the arbitrary powers of the civil guard, (5) no arrest without judge's warrant, (6) abolition of the fifteen days per annum compulsory la- bor." These are the just claims of the Filipinos, which were agreed to by the Spaniards in the treaty of Biac-na-Bato in 1896. But no sooner had Aguinaldo and his follow- ers fulfilled their part of the treaty by laying down their arms than the Spaniards broke faith with them. CHAPTER XLV. NOZALEDA DEMANDS CONTINUATION OF FRIAR DOMINATION. An Associated Press dispatch, dated Manila, January 10, 1900, contained the following, which is interesting as giving the friars' point of view: 'Tt is asserted on high authority that Archbishop Noz- aleda contends in his interviews with Mgr. Chapelle, the Papal Delegate on behalf of the Roman church and the brotherhoods, that the titles to all property held by the church and the brotherhoods in the Philippines should be recognized; that the Roman catechism should be taught in the primary schools; that the existing religious orders should continue to administer the parishes; that other parishes should be established under the same con- trol, and that the parochial control of cemeteries should continue. "He also lays stress in his contentions upon the impor- tance of allowing the church to administer its own affairs without state interference ; upon the necessity of a regime that will guarantee the liberty of the church ; upon the de- sirability of European clergy, the establishment of a new college for the instruction of nafi^^p priests and the con- 322 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. tinuation of indirect contributions for the maintenance of churches and clergy, and upon the expediency of main- taining the system of parochial fees, including revenues from births, marriages, funerals, dispensations and apos- tolic indulgences. *'In addition, Archbishop Nozaleda advises the contin- uance of the church's control of pawnshops and certain designated hospitals and schools, together with the es- tablishment of a special form of parochial administra- tion exacted by the actual conditions in the Philippines." The words "without state interference" seem to mean freedom for the friars to do as they have done hereto- fore, if they please, with impunity. The words "the continuation of indirect contributions for the maintenance of church and clergy" seem to mean, and certainly imply, state support. We are informed that the United States government has paid $12,000 to the Archbishop for rental of one mon- astery per annum, being the exact amount of his former salary, and that it has paid rental for other property, which, according to the terms of the treaty of peace, was purchased, by the United States of the Crown of Spain, to which it belonged by Spanish law. This looks more like direct than "indirect" support of the church. Upon the point of "parochial administration" we would refer the reader to the statement of our Roman Catholic writer, Mr. John Foreman, to be found on page 589 of Senate Document No. 62, part 2, Records of the Fifty- fifth Congress, in which he says: "The real rulers of the islands are the four corporations of friars — namely, the Austin, Dominican, Franciscan and Recoleto orders" — as an explanation of this "special parochial administra- tion." In regard to this sort of administration the editor of "The New Orient," in its issue for February 17, 1900, wrote as follows: RELIGIOUS ORDERS RULED. 323 "It was nominally the Spanish government, but in re- ality it was the Catholic church and the societies which ramify from it, which did the governing. These guarded their fold jealously, and no other religions were allowed to creep in. Individuals professing other faiths were not, perhaps, absolutely excluded, but they were discouraged in every way possible, and such person had small chance of success here. In addition to this, anything which sa- vored of enterprise was looked upon with suspicion and distrust." To turn again to the ofificial records, we find upon pages 457, 458 and 459 of Pu"blic Document No. 62, part 2, of the Fifty-fifth Congress, the following* questions and answers in the oral examination of our Roman Cath- olic authority, Mr. John Foreman, before the Paris Peace Commission : 'The chairman : "Q. I think you stated in your book that about seven- tenths of the revenues of the island are turned over to the church. How is that? "Mr. Foreman replied, reading from an article he had written previously, in the following words: " 'The total revenues for the island, estimated for 1896, were, in round numbers, 86,000,000 pesetas. If you di- vide this by ten it will give the amount in gold dollars, or $8,600,000.' "Mr. Gray: "Q. That is the real value? A. In gold. "Mr. Davis: "Q. About twice that in silver? A. Yes, sir. The dis- bursements to be made included the following items — viz: These are the actual figures for 1896-97. I will give it in pesetas "Mr. Davis: "Q. Where do you derive that? A. From statistics sent me from Madrid for the purposes of my literary work. To the clergy; I suppose we might call it an allowance made by the government to the clergy; general allow- 324 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. ance, 7,000,000 pesetas out of a total of 86,000,000 pese- tas "Mr. Gray: *'Q. Seven hundred thousand dollars? A. Yes, sir. For 'the Franciscan College in Spain, and passages of priests from Spain to the islands, 275,000 pesetas, or $27,500 gold. For the maintenance of Manila Cathedral, 294,000 pesetas, or $29,400 in gold. For the maintenance of the Choir School, 20,000 pesetas, $2,000 gold. Total, 7,589,- 000 pesetas, or $758,900 gold.' " 'Besides the above amounts paid direct to the clergy, the sums extorted by the priests for marriages, sale of indulgences, feasts, masses, burials, baptisms, scapula- ries, etc., are estimated at about 10,000,000 pesetas, or $1,000,000 gold.' " There is another way the priests will get money out of the people. They will say that the Feast of Our Lady So and So is to take place. * * * ' of the Filipinos, in his Pittsburg speech: "They assailed our sovereignty and there will be no useless parley — no pause until the insurrection is sup- pressed and American authority acknowledge and estab- lished," we quote again from the "patriot" Talleyrand: "But M. Adams reaches the climax of impudence in asserting that the ragged and half-starved guerrillas un- der Washington, armed with rusty firelocks and pitch- forks, except a small nucleus equipped by our liberality, overcame the disciplined forces of England. While it seems to be true that the English (with a view, doubtless, to render our position harder) made some important surrenders to the rebels in the absence of our forces, yet all was due to the intervention of France, and it was an act of treachery to deny her sovereignty." The Imperial "patriots" of France in 1782, seem to REVERTING TO TYRANNY. 421 have had the same sentiments as the American Imperial- ists of 1900. So history repeats itself, and humanity swings round the circle till extremes meet just where we would expect the opposites. For those so-called American "Patriots" who howl about hauling down the flag, and surrendering American sovereignty, we quote again from this same letter of Talleyrand, the French statesmen and "Patriot," who opposed American freedom and independence, as it ex- presses their sentiments exactly: "We are making history to-day and it will record the disgraceful policy of the government in completely abandoning French sovereignty in the American colon- ies, wrested by France from the grasp of England. You will ask why the triumph of our army and navy, and not least of all of our diplomacy, should have such a miser- able result. "First, this M. Adams, w^ho to the manners of a Cos- sack joins both rugged talents and 'Yankee' shrewdness, appeals to French honor. He claims that M. de Lafay- ette assured the rebels that his majesty would allow them to establish their independence. * * * jj^ quotes from the Declaration of Independence that governments 'derive their just powers from the consent of the gov- erned.' What madness to pretend to govern with ab- stract ideas, theoretical generalities, and incomplete no- tions of equality!" Our so-called American "Patriots" should shout Amen! These wonderful words of our martyr President, Abra- ham Lincoln, "Those who deny freedom for others de- serve it not themselves, and under a just God cannot long retain it," (page 533, Lincoln's Complete Works,) are a fit warning for us to-day; and the following words, plainly spoken, "I have always thought that all men should be free, but if any should be slaves, it should be 422 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. first those who desire it for themselves and secondly those who desire it for others," are, if possible, even more appropriate. Great and grand and good as he was, he told the truth when he said: ''What I say is, no man is good enough to govern another man without that man's consent." But we need not go back to Washington or even to Lincoln for words of warning or wisdom on this ques- tion, listening to our President and his cabinet, in the present as well as in the past we hear words worthy of noble men, and nobler policies than they represent to- day, as adherents of our present administrative policy. Secretary of War Root has said: "The people of the ceded islands have acquired a moral right to be treated by the United States in accord- ance with the underlying principles of justice and free- dom which we have declared in our Constitution, which are the essential safeguards of every individual against the powers of government, not because those provisions were enacted for them, but because they are essential limitations inherent in the very existence of American government." (See annual report.) Secretary of State Day wrote in his preface to "Cas- tilian Days," before he became an agent, according to Mr. McKinley, of American "Criminal Aggression:" 'There are those who think the Spaniards are not fit for freedom. I believe that no people are fit for anything else." But, knowing that there are those who will claim with Mr. McKinley, that we mean to make these people all as free as they are fit to be, as soon as they are "fit for freedom," we will quote his words first, with a few from the president of the Philippine Commission, and Mr. Lincoln's answer following. Referring to Porto Rico the President said: "I recom- LINCOLN VERSUS McKINLEY. 423 mend that Congress pass a law for the organization of a temporary government, which shall provide for the ap- pointment by the President, subject to confirmation by the Senate, of a governor, and such other officers as the general administration of the island may require. * * * I have not thought it wise to commit the entire govern- ment of the island (Porto Rico) to officers selected by the people, because I doubt whether in habits, training and experience they are such as to fit them to exercise at once so large a degree of self-government." — Mes- sage of December 5, 1899. Judge W. R. Taft, President of the second Philip- pine Commission, wrote in a letter published in "The Manila Freedom" of August 2, 1900, that the Commis- sion had been sent to establish "A government in which the citizens of the islands shall exercise as large a meas- ure of self-government as is consistent with the estab- lishment of law and order. Such a government has been established in Porto Rico. Further than this, the gov- ernment of the United States will not go." Signed: W. R. Taft, President. This can be considered as authoritative and final, as far as President McKinley is concerned, surely. Not only are Lincoln's and McKinley's logical con- clusions antagonistic, but they are the very antitheses of each other, as see: "Those arguments that are made, that the inferior race are to be treated with as much allowance as they are capable of enjoying ; that as much is to be done for them as their condition will allow — what are these argu- ments? They are the arguments that kings have made lor the enslaving of the people in all ages of the world. You will find that all the arguments of king-craft were always of this class; they always bestrode the necks of the people — not that they wanted to do it, but because the people were better off for being ridden, * * * Turn it every way you will — whether it come from the mouth of a king as an excuse for enslaving the people of 424 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. his country, or from the mouth of men of one race, as a reason for enslaving the men of another race — it is all the same old serpent. — Lincoln's Complete Works. Vol. I. Page 259. That our readers may trace the trail of the serpent for themselves, we will quote from an address of King George the Third of Great Britain in reply to a protest of the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Commons of the city of London against sending troops to America to coerce the colonies in 1776: — "I deplore with the deepest concern the miseries which a great part of my subjects in North America have brought upon themselves by an unjustifiable resistance to the constitutional authority of this kingdom, and I shall be ready and happy to alleviate those miseries by acts of mercy and clemency whenever that authority is established and the now existing rebellion is at an end." Mr. McKinley might as well have quoted King George's own words frequently, as far as sentiments, actions or principles are concerned. "I shall use the authority vested in me by the Consti- tution and the statutes to uphold the sovereignty of the United States in those distant islands, as in all other places where our flag rightfully floats. I shall put at the disposal of the army and navy all the means which the liberality of Congress and the people have provided to cause this unprovoked and wasteful insurrection to cease. If any orders of mine were required to insure the merciful conduct of military and naval operations they would not be lacking, but every step of the progress of our troops has been marked by a humanity which has surprised even the misguided insurgents. The truest kindness to them will be a swift and efifective defeat of their present leader. The hour of victory will be the hour of clemency and reconstruction." — Mr. McKinley's Proclamation, Dec. 5, 1899. VIOLATED FAITH. 425 Mr. McKinley's words sound like an echo of King George's in the concluding clause of each, as follows: King George III : "I shall be ready and happy to al- leviate those miseries by acts of mercy and clemency whenever that authority is established and the now exist- ing rebellion is at an end." President William McKinley: 'The hour of victory will be the hour of clemency and reconstruction." The sentiment is the same, but while King George did and could honestly call the conflict in America a ''rebellion," because the colonies of America belonged by charter rights, protection, and all the laws of nations undeniably to the British Empire, Mr. McKinley and the world know that we have no honest claim to the Philip- pines, and can not truthfully term the people "rebels" or "insurgents" or "insurrectionists." They are more truly patriots than were our forefathers of "1776." We conclude with the following quotations from Mr. McKinley's letter of acceptance, calling attention to the carefully prepared chart upon the following pages in connection therewith: "The articles of capitulation of the city of Manila on the 13th of August, 1898, concluded with these words: 'This city, its inhabitants, its churches and religious wor- ship, its educational establishments and its private prop- erty of all descriptions, are placed under the special safeguard of the faith and honor of the American army.' "I believe that this pledge has been faithfully kept. As a high and sacred obligation rests upon the govern- ment of the United States to give protection for prop- erty and life, civil and religious freedom and wise, firm and unselfish guidance in the paths of peace and pros- perity to all the people of the Philippine islands, I charge this commission to labor for the full performance of this obligation, which concerns the honor and conscience of their country, in the firm hope that through all their 426 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. labors the inhabitants of the Philippine islands may come to look back with gratitude to the day when God gave victory to American arms at Manila and set their land under the sovereignty and the protection of the people of the United States." Mr. John Bass, correspondent for the New York Her- ald and Harper's Weekly, wrote as follows: — "Taxes are higher in Manila than under Spanish rule, and the inhabitants bitterly complain. Living expenses have doubled. The native police have been discharged and Americans appointed, whose administration is tyran- nical and inefficient, because they are ignorant of the lan- guage and not familiar with the perpetrators of crime. "Murders and robberies, old inhabitants say, are more numerous than ever before. Taxes and customs duties are being used to support the army instead of being ap- plied to municipal necessities. This really prolongs the war by keeping the natives irritated, after high-sounding promises of good government." Mr. McKinley's promises and American performances are about as opposite as it is possible for professions and practices to be. In his message of April ii, 1898, in which President McKinley referred to a war of intervention in these words : *T speak not of forcible annexation, for that can not be thought of. That by our code of morality would be criminal aggression," he also said : "On this, as on every other trying occasion, safety is to be found in a rigid adherence to principle," but by his utter disre- gard of principle, and deplorable departure from "the plain path of duty," he has betrayed the Republic accord- ing to his own noble words : "Human rights and consti- tutional privileges must not be forgotten in the race for wealth and commercial supremacy. The government by the people, must be by the people, and not by a few of the people. It must rest upon the free consent of the governed, and of all the governed. Power, it must be remembered, which is secured by oppression, or usurpa- BETRAYAL OF LIBERTY. 427 tion, or by any form of injustice is soon dethroned." — Wm. McKinley at New England dinner in New York City, Aug., 1890. As it is right to free the Cubans, and the Fihpinos are, as Admiral Dewey repeatedly declared, officially, "more capable of self-government than the natives of Cuba," it would be right to free the Filipinos and wrong not to free both. Pages 383-4, Senate Document No. 62, part 2. Freedom is as sacred to every true hearted man and woman in the Philippines as in Cuba, or America, and justice and honor are equally binding everywhere. Perv^erting the war for freedom in Cuba, into this cruel, cowardly war of conquest in the Philippines, was as dastardly a deed as ever disgraced any nation. The oft-repeated assertion that "the war is over" seems as false as many of the other myths which have mystified the truth in these matters from first to last, according to the following official information from the command- ing general himself, noting the loss of 53 soldiers: "Manila, Sept. 28 (1900). — Adjutant-General, Wash- ington: Sept. II, Capt. Devereaux Shields, fifty-one men company F, 29th regiment United States volunteer infantry, one hospital corps man, left Santa Cruz, Mar- induque, by gunboat Villalobos for Torrijos, intending return overland to Santa Cruz. Have heard nothing since from Shields. Scarcely doubt entire party cap- tured, with many killed, wounded, Shields among latter. — MacArthur. (The Associated Press.) "Manila, Oct. 8 (1900). — Four troops of cavalry and two companies of infantry have recently re-enforced General Young in northern Luzon, where the insurgents are concentrating in the mountains of North and South Ilocos provinces, under the leadership of Aglipay, the excommunicated priest." 428 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. Aglipay is a native Roman Catholic priest, who with the native priesthood had cast his lot with the Filipino people in their insurrection against the outrages of the foreign Spanish friars, when they were backed by the Spanish Government, as they now seem to be backed by the American Government. The present war is a continuation of that conflict, hav- ing been forced upon the Filipinos by the provisions of the Treaty of Peace, requiring the release of the friars, their return to the Filipino parishes, and the retention by Religious Orders of vast stolen estates. The Chicago Record of October 9, 1900, prints por- tions of a letter from a member of the Thirtieth regiment dated Lucban, Luzon, July 3, 1900, in part as follows, which we quote as at least showing the spirit with which we are safeguarding the Filipino people : "We are having a hot time over in this country. The 'niggers' are getting gay and would not pay their taxes, so at the point of the gun we made them shut up shop and not open .to sell a thing to either natives or soldiers. They made a big kick, but it did them no good; and then what insurgents there were in town wearing 'amigo' (friend) clothes posted up a sign, written in Tagalog, that any one paying taxes to the 'American dogs' would be killed. We expect a scrap in town at any time, but it does not cut any ice with us. We've got lots of am- munition and can make it hot enough for them. Our orders are to kill and shoot every one at sight, men, women or children. Everything goes. At a little scrap we had at Mayjay jay with the ^niggers' there were thirty- nine rebels killed and we did not get a man hit. There is an American out of the 37th, who was a prisoner of the 'niggers,' who was leading them, and some of the 37th's detachment saw him. It will go hard with the traitor if we get him, as it is ordered to shoot him on sight. We take prisoners no more. It is too much trouble to guard them." SAMPLES OF MILITARISM. 429 The horrors of war still hang like a death pall over this people struggling bravely to be free, but if we are true to our trust of the ages, true Republicans, true Democrats, and true Americans, it will soon cease in a blessed peace, by the bestowal of constitutional liberty, in accordance with republican principles. Slavery and saloon power, polygamy and prostitution, censorship of press and suppression of free speech, taxa- tion without representation, and arbitrary appointments, instead of freedom of franchise, contrary to our own laws and constitution, and the higher laws of God, are not conducive to the greatest good of the greatest num- ber, nor the very smallest constituency. But, to be true to the truth, we quote the following news items condensed froni Manila Freedom of dates designated, as samples of American "civilization" in the Philippines : (From The New Voice) ''Manila, July 23 (1899). — A gang of drunken soldiers took possession of the San Miguel beer hall on the Escol- ta. A field fight was soon in progress. 1 he crazed soldiers were smashing furniture and flourishing revolvers when Robert Wallen, a guard of Company I, 20th Infantry, attempted to restore order. Thereupon the drunken sol- diers set upon him. One hit him over the head with a chair. Wallen finally fired in self-defense. Instead of hitting any of the rioters, the ball plowed its way through the heart of Corporal McGuire, who was drinking beer at a table, but not actually engaged in the brawl. This saloon is run on canteen principles and sells nothing stronger than beer." "Manila, July 29 (1899). — Six drunken American sol- diers entered the home of a respectable native on Calle Cervantes. They proceeded to terrorize the occupants, broke open trunks and helped themselves to whatever was wanted. They next entered the home of another nearby native, Rufino Sanches, forcing their way at the point of a **evolver. After helping themselves to what- 430 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. ever they wished, two of the reformers held the strug- gUng husband by force while the others ravished the screaming wife before his eyes. When the aged mother of the woman began to plead for mercy, her pleadings were silenced by one of the soldiers who knocked her down with the butt of his revolver. The Httle children had fled shrieking from the house and notified the neigh- bors. When the police arrived, all of the soldiers had fled save one. This one lay on the floor in a drunken slumber. Later three more of the assailants were cap- tured. It is one of the most realistic lessons in ''benevolent assimilation" that the natives of this neigh- borhood have yet had." "Manila, Sept. lo (1899). — Corporal Damhofifer and Private Connel, both of Company B, Sixteenth Infantry, started out to civilize the Tondo district. In pursuance of the great work, they roj^bed a house of a native and ravished three native women. One of the victims was an old lady sixty years of age. These two expansionists were convicted of the crime. A soldier named McBen- nett of the same company who was implicated in the out- rages is not yet disposed of." These are only three of thousands of incidents almost too indecent to report in public print for promiscuous circulation which show how the city of Manila has been ''placed under the special safeguard of the faith and honor of the American army," and this is how, according to Senator Beveridge, we have become "trustee under God of the civilization of the world — to 'hold fast and forever' the Philippine Islands in defiance of our principles and declarations." On July 24, 1898, (see page 395 of Senate Document No. 62, part 2,) Aguinaldo wrote to General Thomas M. Anderson in part thus : "* * * It is true that my government has not been acknowledged by any of the foreign powers, but we ex- pected that the great North American nation, which struggled first for its independence, and afterwards for FILIPINOS' FEARS REALIZED. 431 the abolition of slavery, and is now actually struggling for the independence of Cuba, would look upon it with greater benevolence than any other nation." But General Otis told the truth when he stated, on page 53 of his official report of August 31, 1899: 'The formerly expressed fear that Spain would re- turn had given way to the statement that it was the in- tention of the United States to replace her in the odious domination which she had exercised for centuries." And now that statement has been substantiated by cer- tainty, our domination having already proved far more destructive, disastrous and demoralizing even than the abominable tyranny of Spain, hard as it may be for an American to realize it, and humiUating as it is to ac- knowledge this. A false policy has compelled its promoters to defend it by a campaign of falsehood from first to last. To defeat this policy by refuting their falsehoods, has been and is the sole purpose of this pubHcation. When the American people know the truth, as they soon will, we firmly believe the American conscience will right the wrong. The infamy of our occupation of the Philippines can not possibly or properly be printed in full, but we believe enough has been published now to open the eyes of all honest Americans to ascertain the truth of the situation there. We ask no one to take our words for it, but we beg all to ascertain the truth and act according to conscience and the duty of the day. To give an illustration of this we append herewith a chart of Manila by Mr. William E. Johnson, the special commissioner of the New Voice, which he prepared upon the spot, showing how "the faith and honor of the Ameri- 432 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. can army safeguard the city of Manila," in these matters, "which concern the honor and conscience of our coun- try." The black squares are to show the location of 1,109 licensed liquor saloons or stands, but do not designate the 200 houses of ill fame, or 600 opium dens, licensed as saloons, nor the many army canteens, all under strict military supervision and control. Besides these, there are hundreds of Wind pigs, about 25 distil- leries, and one full-fledged brewery, which, according to the certificate of its superintendent, has increased its busi- ness 500 per cent since the introduction of American ''civilization." These blessings of "benevolent assimilation" abound throughout all "pacified" portions of the Philippines, hundreds of army canteens and American saloons being scattered broadcast, with governmental military broth- els, — "which concern the honor and conscience" of our country. These places all being subject to American military control show further how the Philippines are placed un- der the special safeguard of the faith and honor of the American Army, for one order from the President, prop- erly enforced, would wipe them out, and do away with this damning disgrace. on of Manila and Suburbs RETURN TO the circulation desk of any University of California Library or to the NORTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY Bldg. 400, Richmond Field Station University of California Richmond, CA 94804-4698 ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS • 2-month loans may be renewed by calling (510)642-6753 • 1-year loans may be recharged by bringing books to NRLF • Renewals and recharges may be made 4 days prior to due date, DUE AS STAMPED BELOW ^PRISTO MlVQQ 12,000(11/95) iiiciey GENERAL LIBRARY -U.C. BERKELEY iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii B0DD7n3M3 «»