The American. (Omaha, Nebraska) 1891-1899, October 07, 1898, Image 1

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THE AMERICAN.
W ! M A 1 1 N A V t Ml V " W t. M ' Awn ttk..Mi .r i ..r-. 1. lr t Mr ft i tt it tis
1'k
I'Mi i; i w i; i iai
N MUM U.
A t IM.V M HM I (t
i Vol Vlll.
OMAHA, M IIUVHKA, IlillVW, O li-lUK 7, v.y
I
V.
f
)
ROMAN PRIESTS
WILL BE KILLED
OR BANISHED.
Murat HaUtctul Writr An
Interesting Letter
About the
UWa IVItiff ffklrk rrrtttli la the
rhlllpplM Islaada lrill
IVteaU of Heine.
Following are tome extract from ft
letter written from Manilla by Murat
Balitead to the Chicago Record.
Practically alt person la the mora
c!vll!ed-and that li to say the easily
accessible portions of the Philippine
Inlands, with perhaps the exception of
those leading Insurgent who would
like to enjoy the opiortunltlet the
Spaniard have had for the gratifica
tion of greed and indulgence of a policy
of revenge, would be glad to see the
Americans remain In Manila, and also
In ai large a territory a they could
readily command.
The Spaniard of intelligence are
aware that they have little that is de
lnble t3 anticipate in case the country
1 restored to them along with their
Mauters and other firearm, great and
small. It is obvloui that the Insur
gents have become to the Spaniards
a source of anxloly attended with ter
ror. The fact that they allowed
themselves to be bi slgcd in Manila by
an equal number of Filipinos 1 conclu
a.TJ that their rtlgn is over, and they
are not passionately in favor of tuelr
own restoration. Their eia of cruel and
corrupt government I at an end, even
if we shall be to weak or mad as to per
mit them to make the experiment.
The exasperticn of the Filipino to
ward the church I a phenomenon, and
they usua ly state it with uncandld
qualification of the lnadcqate definition
of the opinion and policy made by
General Agulnaldo. Representation
Of any representative character as
a American journalist, that gave
mi an lmportar.ee I do not
claim or assume to have, caused the
appearance at my room of Insurgents
of high (tandlng and comprehensive
Information, and I may add of large
fortunes In some cases. I wai deeply
Impressed of their violent radicalism
regarding the priestr. At first they
made no distinction, but said flatly the
priest were the mlschlefmaker, the
true tyrant, snd next to the half-breed
Filipino crested with Chinese, the
moneymaker, those who profited
wrongfully by the taming of others.
And so the priests must go, and have
do choice except that of deportation
or execution. In few words, if they did
not go awy tbey would be killed.
When clone and urgent Inquiry wa
mulotbo native priest were not U
eluded In the application of tbl rule
Toe Spanish priests were particularly
singled out for vtngenee and with them
such other as had been false to the
people and treacherous in their rela
tion to political affairs.
The number to be exiled or executed
wa stated at 3,060, The priests are
panicky about his feeling of the natives,
a I In evidence in their solicitude to
get away. They at least have no hope
tf security if the Spaniard soould re
gain the mastery of the islands. Two
hundred and fifty of them In vain sough
to get lastage to Hongkong in one
boat. ' It was impressed that the evic
tion or examination of the Spanish
priests was one of the Inevitable results
of Philippine Udependenoe the first
thing to be done.
It was with three objects in view
tbet I had an Interview with General
Auglnaldo: (1) To ascertain as exactly
a possible his feeling and policy toward
the United Stutoi and Its assertion of
military authority; (2) t) inquire about
hi position touching the priest?, (3)
and to urge him to be at pain to be
represented not only at Washington
but at Paris. As regards the latter
rytyaMwrj U
jrtl
point It was clear to my mind that the
people of the Philippine', whatever
they might be, ought tote represented
before the Paris conf rence No mutter
what their case it should be pen
tonally presented, even If the rcpre
tenta'ivos were witnesses against lath
er than for themselves. In the Uteres!
of fair piny and the general truth the
Philippine population should put In
appoaranoejat the seat of the govern
moot of the United States for the In
formation of the president, aid at the
icfne of the conference to testify, and
I wa sure It would appear to all case
that tbey wero at least capable af gov
e-alng themselves than the Sjan
lards wero to govern them. For there
omld be no form of government on
earth quit a bad a ttat of the fatal
oolonlal syitem of Spain as illustrated
oa the Philippine! aod la the Ame
lias. General Agulnaldo wa neither re
mote nor Inaccessible. Ill heaelquart
en were in an indain village, Just
o.oi the bty, named Daracoa, and
In Mess than an hour a swift steam
launah carried Mijrr Bull of the
bureau of information, gallant and
mist industrlou and enegetio officer,
and mytelf to water so shallow that wo
bad to call canoe to land in front fo
church that before the day of Dewey
wa riddled by the fire of SpanWh war
i blps because occupied by Insurgents.
The walls and roof showed many per
forations. The houses of the village
were made of bamboo and there were
mny stands along the hot ar.d dusty
'.reeton which fruit wa displayed for
tale.
Ha had nothing to say in response to
Msjor Iltll's explicit remark about tbe
in man and one country military
power, but tbe action of the insurgent
In removing their head quarter or
th'Jir capital, a they call it to a point
forty mllos from Manila, proves that
they had come to an understanding
tt at the soldier of the United State
are not in the Philippines for their
health entirely, or purely In the lcter
ebt of universal benevolence. The
Filipinos must know; too, thst they
could never themselves eave captured
Manila if it nod not been for tbe Amer
can fleet and army. It 1 not inapt to
m i m
itx m . i w vt v l a - r
say here that tho real center of the J
rebellion against 8, a n in, ai it hs
b ea fcr ynars, at U)ngkons
I hd reserved what seemed to mn
the most Interoitlng question of tho
interview with the Philippic i lender
to the last. It was whether a condition
of pao'fleat'on was the expulsion of the
Catholic prlosts as a class. Thl wi
prented with reference to the threats
that had been made in my tearing
that the priests must go or die, for they
were the breeder of all trouble, must
all of thorn bo removed in nmo way or
another; if not, where would the line
be drawn? Tue Hps of the general
were parted and his voice was low and
gentle, tbe tongue to a remarkable de
gree doing tbe talking, as ho replied,
plainly picking word cautiously and
measuring them. Tho able and oeute
interpreter dolt thoro out raoldly, and
his rendering gave tokon that the
Filipino have already had leoni in
diplomacy jven I n the Spalsh style of
polite prevarication or if that may be
at shade too strong, Ictus say elusive
reservation the ue of language that
I more obscure than silence, tho fram
J rig of phrase that may be interpreted
so as not to close but to continue dl
cm Ion and leave wide field for con
troversy. The general did not r f sr to
his counselors, or the cjngresi that is
the background and advert Ised a If It
were a new force.
I give tbe word of the Interpreter;
"The general says tbe priesti to
whom erection I made, and with
whom we have a mortal quarrel, are
not our priest', but the Spaniard
and those of the ordor; We respect
tho Catholic church. We rospoct our
own priests, and. if they are friend of
our country, we will protect them. Our
war Is not upon the Catholic ehurch,
but upon the fralrs, who have been the
most crbol enemies. We cannot have
them here. They must go agar. Let
them go to Spain. We are willing
that they may go to their own country.
We do not want thorn. There Is no
peace until toey go."
I sail that my information was that
the objectionable order expressly
proscribed by the Insurgent were tbe
Dominicans, Augustlnea, Franciscans
and Recollect, but that the Jesuit
were not include I. ThU was fully re
elud to tho g n rI, a' d wlih hi eye
closing and hi mmiti whlsporlng
close to the interpreter's ehook he gave
hi answer, qulokly rendered;
"The Jesu t, too' must go Tbey
also are our enemlun, Wo do no', want
thiiin. Thy betray. They can got)
Spain. Tiny may bo wanted there,
not here; but not here, not here."
Tr.e q loitlon' whether the friars
m int make choluo botw ten departure
and death was not met directly, but
with repetitions that they might he
at home In Sp tin, tut could not bet
part of tbe indipjndont Philippines:
and, significantly, tSey would be will
ing to go when wanted.
Carlisle's Intl-Kxpiinolnrt Menu,
I"x Sucrolary John U. Carlisle ha
contributed to the Ojiob. r number of
Uarpor' Magazine an article on "Our
Future Policy," In wr.loh I e marshal
all tho theories and sophlstrln that can
bo found tooppo o territorial expansion
y the iinnexat ou o' our cjiquerod
Spanish territory. The first point in
Mr. Carlisle's argument Is that wo have
no rigbt to hold Cuhaorany other cor.
quertd Spanish Man J, but hi chief
contention Is that by this enlargnrnent
of our boundarloi wo (hall bo bringing
upon us "the greatest calamity that
could befall us as a nail )n," It can be
shown that both these Ideas are utterly
at varlanco with fact and with prece
dent, after which it will ho seen that
Mr, Carlisle's ingenious mugwump
sophistries resolve thomrelve Into tho
sheerest nonsense,
Tbo notion that tbl nation is barred
from holding any SpanUb Island be
cause of certain hdgt concerning
Cuba I absured. That disavowal of
any disposition io hold or control Cut a
wa made before the wt r was actually
precipitated. It was part of plan ty
which a peaceable stt lement ol tho
Cuban quostlon might have b':en
reached if Spain had done Its part by
getting out of Cuba forthwith. Hut
Spal a rejected tbls plan. It drove our
mlntitors from It court before war ws
declared. It rejected everything and
proposed nothing that could be accept-
ed by u. In effoct Spain maJo war
upon ut, It offered no reparation or
even apology for treacherously dustroy
IngtheMitno and 2'ifl Aiwrloan sua-
mon, II choosing war Hpain liniir
destroyed thaterlglnal proposal of ours,
an J the condition and purpose s there
In set forth In regard tei Cutis, then
dropped to the ground. Cu'ia Use I',
with lt prep mderanoe of ne-grooiand
lt mlnerlty of whites, I not )et ready
for self government. It needs J ist such
a training a F.gypt I getting from
(J re at Britain, to that dependency's
enormous hurieflt and evorlt,'ng good,
Our ptramount duty, In any case,
would be to keep ord'ir and aemurlty In
the Island, an 1 this pledge we are bound
to redeem before all other. The only
way we can redeem It Is to hold Cuba,
at least for (hurt time, a Kngland
holds Kgypt.
Hmiueib for Mr, Carlisle' minor point
of "national honer pledged." Spain
sbatt rred that pledge by It own act
It appealed to tho arbitrament of war.
thereby Incurring tho cost and penal
tie of war, One of tho laws of civilized
warfare Is that tho vanquished must
puy tho c W to fie victor, either In
cash or in territory, Tho people of the
United States expoet to bo reoompemsud
for the heavy expenditures brought
upon them by Spain' act, and they
must recoup themselves by the aiquUI
tlon df tho Spanish Islands, Spain has
nothing else with which to pay us
Many presidents ex 1st to (how that tbo
victor may and should rceoup himself
in mousy and territory, one of tho mewl
powerful being tho Franco Prussian
war. On Mr. Carlisle's own eJmlmlon
wo did right In relenting the sore pro)
vocation by Spain. Ills reason for our
going to war aro anip'y sufficient. It
I strange ho does not see thl, and It Is
also strange that ho does not see that
we are hound In j ist'eie to ourselve to
take tho only payment whloh Spain can
offer.
Mr Carlisle' hostility t terrltorla
expansion comes tiKi late. The Preal
dent has declared for it. Cjngress has
already favored It. A war has been
fought Invol vlng It, Tr e iwoplo of the
United States are enthusiastically 'on
vlncod both of It Justice and of Its bene
fljlal effects on tho future of tbo nation
It It too late to advocate policy of
eMl rt ie.t - t'M U' e the Ai
a leaal t fwrsl bt ra up ftltl.
Mr, t'anltl' ritiia tsat th
nI.H 4 the nation's af n.sr
((a) U rir Ustlttitlott I SMithtet t
weardly rot, mIUmI iiaHy nl ft
tieaa 'f til lnMUitiat attalemraU,
Thftly way ti t lhaff" t
territorial etan!en la our day Is let
lH'k at lh esamplr of nailems that
ftilepVed It. The we st striking vsamplsj
in eiltne) Is tur nuilhrr wnietry
tifrst Itrltsle. It has git lain the
rolonl'atleie and foreign derilrnef
buslnHw on an enormous n-ale In the
last 12A year la ha taken control of
great empire In India. It hae ceilem
tsrd the hide Island or rontlnentftl of
Australia. It has aeU'd and oontrolleHl
the southrrn and eastern peirt!en of
Afrlo, Including Fgypl, and It expan-
Inn In that quarter ewrtlnue. It ha
become the master of vast onntlnenUl
and Island domains all up and down the
chart of the world. Has expansion
proved In Oreet Britain' case f be
'the greatest calamity that oou'd be
fall It"? Ha It destroyed tbollbertle
of the English? Ha It wrecked their
free Institutions? Surely any child can
seie tho folly and nonsonue of Mr. Car
lisle' dismal auguries.
Tie ex-Secretary knows, a every
snhoeilboy knows, that expansion ha
net injured but ha rather Increased
and broadened Kngllsh liberty and En"
gllsh liberal Institutions. Then why
should a similar ejolor.lal policy Injure
American Institutions? Are wo not of
the nme blen d and are we not now the
greaur branch of thl great Kngllsb
peaking race? Are our law and In
stitutions not a much like F.ngland'o
as wn are like our Rrgllsh cousins?
Mr, Carlisle deliberately misstate the "
cause when be talc of "yellow bordo
of conscript citizens te debauch the
suffrage ane sap the foundation of our
frro Institutions." It fa not propound to
make State of tho Philippine, Neilth'
erlsMr, Carlisle within the bouoda
of truth when ho say we cannot other
wise hold those Island "without violat
ing the organlo law of tho land." Tbero
Is n) organe law forbidding our holding
as colonies Cuba, Porto Woo, the Phil
ippines, and all tbo rest of the West
anil Kast Indies. Neither would tbero
ba tho slightest danger to our homo
liberties In so doing. Wo might under
take to rule the whole of China ssft
dependency, provided It came justly In
to our hand, and still not be doing ft
quarter of what little Kngland I doing
outside It boundaries. The talk of
danger and of "organlo law" la all
nonsense. Wo bavo alretdy In opera
tion forms of territorial government In
the district of Columbia, New Mxico,
Alaska, and Hawaii, which need but
little modification to apply exactly to
the need of the ex Spanish colemlea,
There I no more "organic law" against
our ruling these island without pop
ular suffrage than tbero I against'
ruling tbe p-oplo of Washington City
that way, Kdltorlal In the Chicago
Trlbuno,
i
Pope I llerply Concern.
The Vatican 1 troubled about tho
ssfety of church prope-rty In tho Phil
ippine. It I well known that tho great
monastlo order like tho Dominicans,
Franciscans, August! nlan, and Jesuit
have little title to show for tho vast
tract of territory In their possession,
Tbo Vatican ftulheiritie have been
stirred up by the surest Ion that these
properties might bo confiscated under
any other sovereignly except Spain',
but the Pope ha received aisuranoe
under American rule would bo Impos
sible. I was informed today that tbo
Vatican would gladly Indorso any
friendly arrangement by which the
American government coulel bo extend
ed throughout tho Philippine.
From ft Part cable to Chicago Trlb
uno. Ono would think, to hear people talk,
that the war wa over. And tho
strange part of tho thing is, the gov
ernment I Just fti easily duped a are
the people.