Chapter V

Chapter VInsurgent Rule and the Wilcox-Sargent ReportThe Good Book says, “By their fruits ye shall know them, whether they be good or evil,” and it seems proper to apply this test to the Insurgents and their government.The extraordinary claim has been advanced that the United States destroyed a republic in the Philippines and erected an oligarchy on its ruins. Various writers and speakers who have not gone so far as this have yet maintained that Aguinaldo and his associates established a real, effective government throughout the archipelago during the interim between his return and the outbreak of hostilities with the United States.In summarizing conditions on September 15, 1898, Judge Blount says:1—“Absolute master of all Luzon outside Manila at this time, with complete machinery of government in each province for all matters of justice, taxes, and police, an army of some 30,000 men at his beck, and his whole people a unit at his back, Aguinaldo formally inaugurated his permanent government—permanent as opposed to the previous provisional government—with a Constitution, Congress, and Cabinet, patterned after our own,2just as the South American republics had done before him when they were freed from Spain, at Malolos, the new capital.”He refers to our utter failure to understand “what a wonderfully complete ‘going concern’ Aguinaldo’s government had become throughout the Philippine Archipelago before the Treaty of Paris was signed.”3He bases his claim as to the excellent state of public order in the Insurgent territory at this time on a report of Paymaster W. E. Wilcox and Naval Cadet L. R. Sargent of the United States Navy, who between October 8 and November 20, 1898, made a long, rapid trip through northern Luzon, traversing the provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Pangasinán, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela, Cagayan, South Ilocos and Union, in the order named, thence proceeding to Dagupan and down the railroad through Pangasinán, Tarlac, Pampanga and Bulacan to Manila.He says that these gentlemen found the authority of Aguinaldo’s government universally acknowledged, the country in a state of perfect tranquillity and public order,4with profound peace and freedom from brigandage and the like.5Now if it be true that Aguinaldo established complete machinery of government throughout all of Luzon outside of Manila for all matters of justice, taxes and police, so that life and property were safe and peace, tranquillity and justice assured, we may well dispense with quibbling as to whether the proper name was applied to such government. But did he?Let us examine with some care the history of the Wilcox-Sargent trip, and see if we can gain further light from other sources relative to the condition of public order in the territory which they traversed.I propose, for the most part, to let the captured Insurgent records speak for themselves, as it is fair to assume that Insurgent officers were at no pains to representconditions as worse than they really were. In view of the fragmentary character of these records, we may also assume that the complete story would be still more interesting and instructive than the one which I have been able to reconstruct.Retreat at Bilibid Prison, ManilaRetreat at Bilibid Prison, ManilaMessrs. Sargent and Wilcox were almost everywhere hospitably received, and were entertained with dinners and dances after the inimitable fashion of the hospitable Filipino everywhere. They gained a very favourable impression of the state of public order in the provinces through which they passed for the reason that from the very start their trip was strictly personally conducted. They saw exactly what it was intended that they should see and very little more. Their progress was several times interrupted for longer or shorter periods without adequate explanation. We now know that on these occasions the scenery so carefully prepared in advance for them had become a little disarranged and needed to be straightened up. Facts which I will cite show that most shocking and horrible events, of which they learned nothing, were occurring in the territory through which they passed.For a considerable time before their departure American visitors had been carefully excluded from the Insurgent territory, but the Filipino leaders decided to let these two men go through it to the end that they might make as favourable a report as possible. How carefully the way was prepared for American visitors is shown by the following telegram:—“San Pedro, Macati,“July 30, 1898.“To the Local Presidente of Pasig:“You are hereby informed that the Americans are going to your town and they will ask your opinion [of what the people desire.—Tr.] You should answer them that we want a republican government. The same answer must be given throughout your jurisdiction.(Signed) “Pío Del Pilar,“General of the Second Zone.”6Now General Pilar had an uncomfortable way of killing people who did not obey his orders, and under the rules of the Insurgent government he was abundantly justified in so doing. His suggestions as to what visiting Americans should be told or shown would be likely to be acceded to. Certainly this seems to have been the case in the present instance, for on the same day General Noriel reported as follows:7“President R. G., Bacoor, from Gen. Noriel, Pineda, July 30, 12.10 P.M.: I inform your excellency that some commissioners of the American admiral are making investigations in the region around Pasay as to the wishes and opinion of the people as to the government. To-day I received a statement from some, giving the answer: ‘Free government under American protectorate [copy mutilated, two or three words missing here] the President.’”Blount quotes with approval Admiral Dewey’s statement made shortly after the return of Wilcox and Sargent that in his opinion their report “contains the most complete and reliable information obtainable in regard to the present state of the northern part of Luzon Island.”8This was true.The admiral might have gone further and said that it contained practically the only information then obtainable in regard to conditions in the territory in question, but as I shall conclusively show it was neither complete nor reliable.Judge Blount in describing the experiences of Messrs. Wilcox and Sargent naïvely makes the statement that:“The tourists were provided at Rosales by order of Aguinaldo with a military escort, ‘which was continued by relays all the way to Aparri.’”9It certainly was!Very little Spanish was then spoken in Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela or Cagayan. What opportunity had these twomen, ignorant as they were of the native dialects, to learn the sinister facts as to what had been and was occurring in the territory which they visited?No one can fail to be delighted with Filipino hospitality, which was lavishly bestowed upon them everywhere, and it is only natural that they should have reported favourably upon what they saw. It was about this time that an order was issued10that fronts of buildings should be whitewashed, streets cleaned and fences repaired with a view to showing every one, and especially travellers through the territory of the Insurgents, that they were “not opposed to a good such as a refined and civilized people should have.” Doubtless the report of the two men from Dewey’s fleet was made in the best of faith. I will now endeavour to show what were some of the actual conditions in the territory through which they passed.BulacanThey first visited Bulacan. They do not mention hearing of the activities of a Chinaman named Ignacio Paua, who had been given the rank of colonel by Aguinaldo and assigned the task of extorting contributions for the revolution from his countrymen. In a letter to Aguinaldo written on July 6, 1898, Paua states that he has collected more than $1,000 from the Chinese of these small towns, but asks for an order “prohibiting the outrages that are being committed against such merchants as are not our enemies.” He further says, “When the contributions from the Chinamen of all the pueblos shall have been completed I wish to publish a proclamation forbidding any injury to the Chinamen and any interference with their small business enterprises,” and adds that “thenatives hereabouts themselves are the people who are committing said abuses.”11Apparently Paua had no objection to the committing of outrages against merchants that were the enemies of the cause, nor does he seem to have objected to injury to Chinamen before contributions were completed. His own methods were none too mild. On August 27, 1898, General Pío del Pilar telegraphed Aguinaldo that five Insurgent soldiers, under a leader supposed to be Paua, had entered the store of a Chinaman, and tried to kidnap his wife, but had left on the payment of $10 and a promise to pay $50 later, saying that they would return and hang their fellow countryman if the latter amount was not forthcoming.12Paua was later made a general in consideration of his valuable services!PampangaOur travellers next visited Pampanga. Here they apparently overlooked the fact that Aguinaldo did not have “his whole people a unit at his back.” The citizens of Macabebe seem not to have approved of the Aguinaldo regime, for the Insurgent records show that:—“Representatives of the towns of Pampanga assembled in San Fernando on June 26, 1898, and under the presidency of General Maximino Hizon agreed to yield him complete ‘obedience as military governor of the province and representative of the illustrious dictator of these Philippine Islands.’ The town of Macabebe refused to send any delegates to this gathering.”13It may be incidentally mentioned that Blount has passed somewhat lightly over the fact that he himself during his army days commanded an aggregation of sturdy citizens from this town, known as Macabebe scouts, who diligently shot the Insurgents full of holes whenever they got a chance. He incorrectly refers to them as a “tribe or clan.”14It is absurd to call them a tribe. They are merely the inhabitants of a town which has long been at odds with the neighbouring towns of the province.Things had come to a bad pass in Pampanga when its head wrote that the punishment of beating people in the plaza and tying them up so that they would be exposed to the full rays of the sun should be stopped. He argued that such methods would not lead the people of othernations to believe that the reign of liberty, equality and fraternity had begun in the Philippines.15When it is remembered that persons tied up and exposed to the full rays of the sun in the Philippine lowlands soon die, in a most uncomfortable manner, we shall agree with the head of this province that this custom has its objectionable features!TarlacWhile the failure of Messrs. Wilcox and Sargent to learn of the relations between the Tagalogs of Macabebe and their neighbours, or of the fact that people were being publicly tortured in Pampanga, is perhaps not to be wondered at under the circumstances, it is hard to see how they could have failed to hear something of the seriously disturbed conditions in Tarlac if they so much as got off the train there.On August 24 the commissioner in charge of elections in that province asked for troops to protect him, in holding them in the town of Urdaneta, against a party of two thousand men of the place, who were going to prevent them.On September 22 the secretary of the interior ordered that the requirements of the decree of June 18, establishing municipal governments, should be strictly complied with, as in many of the towns “the inhabitants continue to follow the ancient methods by which the friars exploited us at their pleasure and which showed their great contempt for the law.”16Bilibid Prison HospitalBilibid Prison HospitalThe Philippine Government has been charged with the neglect of prisoners. The truth is that it has made the prisons of the Philippines the most sanitary structures of their kind in the tropics, and gives its sick prisoners the best of care.The following letter to Aguinaldo, from Juan Nepomuceno, Representative from Tarlac, speaks for itself as to conditions in that province on December 27, 1898, shortly after the American travellers passed through it on their return:—“I regret exceedingly being compelled to report to you that since Sunday the 25th instant scandalous acts have been going on in the Province of Tarlac, which I represent. On the night of the Sunday mentioned the entire family of the Local Chief of Bamban was murdered, and his house and warehouse were burned. Also the Tax Commissioner and the Secretary, Fabian Ignacio, have been murdered. Last night Señor Jacinto Vega was kidnapped at the town of Gerona; and seven travellers were murdered at O’Donnel, which town was pillaged, as well as the barrio of Matayumtayum of the town of La Paz. On that day various suspicious parties were seen in the town of Pañique and in the same barrio, according to reliable reports which I have just received.“All this general demoralization of the province, according to the information which I have obtained, is due to the fact that the province is dissatisfied with the Provincial Chief, Señor Alfonso Ramos, and with Major Manuel de León; for this is substantiated by the fact that all the events described occurred since last Sunday, when Señor Alfonso Ramos returned, to take charge of the Office of Provincial President, after having been detained for several days in this town. Wherefore, I believe that in order to restore tranquillity in the province, consideration be given to various documents that have been presented to the Government and to the standing Committee of Justice; and that there be removed from office Señor Alfonso Ramos, as well as said Señor Manuel de León, who has no prestige whatever in this province. Moreover on the day when fifty-four soldiers of the command deserted, he himself left for San Fernando, Pampanga.”17On November 30, 1898, General Macabulos sent Aguinaldo a telegram18from which it evidently appearsthat there was an armed uprising in Tarlac which he was endeavouring to quell and that he hoped for early success. Apparently, however, his efforts to secure tranquillity were not entirely successful, for on December 18 he telegraphed Aguinaldo as follows:—“In a telegram dated to-day Lieut. Paraso, commanding a detachment at Camilin, informs me that last night his detachment was attacked by Tulisanes (robbers). The fire lasted four hours without any casualties among our men. This afternoon received another from the captain commanding said detachment, informing me of the same, and that nothing new has occurred. The people of the town await with anxiety the result of the charges they have made, especially against the local president and the justice of the peace, the original of which I sent to your high authority.”19Obviously the police machinery was not working quite smoothly when a detachment of Insurgent troops could be kept under fire for four hours by a robber band, and perhaps the attacking party were not all “robbers.” Soldiers do not ordinarily carry much to steal.We obtain some further information from the following telegram of December 27, 1898, sent by the secretary of the interior to the President of the Revolutionary Government:—“Most urgent. According to reports no excitement except in Bangbang, Tarlac, which at 12 A.M., 25th, was attacked by Tulisanes [bandits or robbers,—D.C.W.]. The local presidente with his patrols arrested six of them. On continuing the pursuit he met in Talacon a party too large to attack. At 7 A.M. of the 26th the town was again attacked by criminals, who killed the tax collector, and others who burnt some houses, among them that of the local presidente, and his stables, in which he lost two horses. I report this for your information.”20Evidently tax collectors were not popular in Tarlac.Still further light is shed on the situation by a telegram from the secretary of the interior to Aguinaldo, dated December 28, 1898:—“According to my information the excitement in Tarlac increases. I do not think that the people of the province would have committed such barbarities by themselves. For this reason the silence of General Macabulos is suspicious; to speak frankly, it encourages the rebels. Some seven hundred of them, with one hundred and fifty rifles, entered Pañique, seized the arms of the police, the town funds, and attacked the houses of the people. I report this for your information. All necessary measures will be taken.”21Note also the following from the secretary of the interior, under date of December 27, 1898, to Aguinaldo:—“I have just learned that not only in Bangbang, but also in Gerona, Onell, and other places in Tarlac, men have been assaulted by numerous Tulisanes, armed with rifles and bolos, who are killing and capturing the inhabitants and attacking travellers, robbing them of everything they have. The President should declare at once that that province is in state of siege, applying martial law to the criminals. That—(remainder missing).”22The secretary of agriculture took a more cheerful view of the situation. Under date of December 28 he telegraphed Aguinaldo as follows:—“The events in Bangbang, Tarlac Province, according to a witness here worthy of credit, have arisen from an attempt to procure vengeance on the local presidente, and robbery of Chinese shops. Hence they are without political importance. The tax collector killed, and a countryman servant of the local presidente wounded. They burnt two houses of the local presidente, a stable, and a warehouse for sugar-cane.”23Obviously the robbery of Chinese shops and the killing of a few individuals was at first considered by the secretary of agriculture to be without political importance. Evidentlyhe changed his mind, however, for on the same day, December 28, 1898, he telegraphed Aguinaldo as follows:—“I think it necessary to send Aglipay24to quiet Tarlac. Send for him. If you desire, I will go to Tarlac to investigate the causes of the disorders, in order to find a remedy for them.”25At this stage of events Aguinaldo was summoned to Malolos by a telegram from Mabini under date of December 29, which reads as follows:—“Most urgent. You must come here immediately. Trías is sick. We can come to no decision in regard to the Tarlac matter. Cannot constitute a government without you.”26The measures which were actually taken are set forth in another telegram of the same date from the secretaries of war and interior to Aguinaldo, which reads as follows:—“We have sent civil and military commissioners to Tarlac; among them the Director of War and persons of much moral influence, in order to stifle the disturbances. The necessary instructions have been given them and full powers for the purpose, and as far as possible to satisfy the people. Have also sent there six companies of soldiers with explicit instructions to their commander to guard only the towns, and make the people return to a peaceful life, using a policy of attraction for the purpose.”27Let us hope that the commander was able to attract the people with his six companies of soldiers, and make them return to a peaceful life.Still further light is thrown on the situation in Tarlac by the following extract from “Episodios de la Revolucion Filipina” by Padre Joaquin D. Duran, an Augustinian priest, Manila, 1901, page 71:—“At that period the Filipinos, loving order, having been deceived of the emancipation promise, changed by the Katipúnan into crimes and attacks on the municipality of the pueblos, discontentbroke out in all parts, and, although latent in some provinces, in that of Tarlac was materialized in an ex-sergeant of the late Spanish civil guard. A valorous and determined man, he lifted up his flag against that of Aguinaldo. One hundred rifles were sufficient to terrorize the inhabitants of said province, crushing the enthusiastic members of the revolutionary party.... Having taken possession of four towns, Pecheche would have been everywhere successful if ambition and pride had not directed his footsteps. In January, 1899, the Aguinaldista commander of Tarlac province, afraid that his whole province would espouse the cause of the sergeant, attempted by every means in his power to interrupt his career, not hesitating to avail himself of crime to destroy the influence of Pecheche with the many people who had been incensed by the Katipúnan and had in turn become firm partisans of the Guards of Honour.“The Ilocano Tranquilino Pagarigan, local presidente at that time of Camiling, served as an admirable instrument for this purpose.... Pecheche was invited to a solemn festivity organized by Tranquilino, who pretended to recognize him as his chief, and rendering himself a vassal by taking an oath to his flag. He accepted the invitation, and after the mass which was celebrated went to a meal at the convent, where, after the meal was over, the members of the K.K.K. surrounded Pecheche and 10 of his officers and killed them with bolos or tied them and threw them out of the windows and down the staircase. Some priests were held captive in the building where this took place and were informed of what had taken place immediately afterwards.”This extract shows how easy it then was for any man of determination to acquire a following, especially if he could dispose of a few rifles. It also gives an excellent idea of the methods employed by the Insurgents in dealing with those who opposed their rule.General Fred D. Grant once told me, with much amusement, of an interesting experience during a fight on Mt. Arayat in Pampanga. His men took a trench and captured some of its occupants. Several of these were impressed as guides and required to show the attacking forces the locations of other trenches. At first they served unwillingly, but presently became enthusiasticand rushed the works of their quondam fellow-soldiers in the van of the American attack. Finally they begged for guns. Grant added that he could start from Bacolor for San Fernando any morning with a supply of rifles and pick up volunteers enough to capture the place, and that on the return trip he could get enough more to attack Bacolor!PangasinánAnd now we come to Pangasinán, the most populous province of Luzon, and the third in the Philippines in number of inhabitants.“In July, 1898, the officer in Dagupan wrote to the commanding general of Tarlac Province that he would like to know whom he was required to obey, as there were so many officials of all ranks who gave him orders that it was impossible for him to know where he stood.”28In a letter dated August 17, 1898, to Aguinaldo, Benito Legarda complained that a bad impression had been produced by the news from Dagupan that when the Insurgents entered there, after many outrages committed upon the inmates of a girls’ school, every officer had carried off those who suited him.29What should we say if United States troops entered the town of Wellesley and raped numerous students at the college, the officers subsequently taking away with them the young ladies who happened to suit them? Yet things of this sort hardly caused a ripple in the country then under the Insurgent flag, and I learned of this particular incident by accident, although I have known Legarda for years.I quote the following general description of conditions in Pangasinán from a letter addressed by Cecilio Apóstol to General Aguinaldo on July 6, 1898:—“You probably know that in the Province of Pangasinán, of one of the towns in which your humble servant is a resident,the Spanish flag through our good fortune has not flown here for the past few months, since the few Spaniards who lived here have concentrated in Dagupan, a place not difficult of attack, as is said.“But this is what is going on in this Province” There exist here two Departmental Governments, one calling itself that of Northern Luzón and of which Don Vicente del Prado is the President, and the other which calls itself that of Northern and Central Luzón, presided over by Don Juliano Paraiso. Besides these two gentlemen, there are two governors in the province(!) one Civil Political Military, living in Lingayen, named Don Felipe J. Bartolomé, and another living in Real Guerrero, a town of Tayug, named Don Vicente Estrella. And in addition there are a large number of Administrators, Inspectors, Military Judges, Generals, ... they cannot be counted. It is a pandemonium of which even Christ, who permits it, cannot make anything. Indeed, the situation is insupportable. It reminds me of the schism in the middle ages when there were two Popes, both legitimate, neither true. Things are as clear as thick chocolate, as the Spaniards say. In my poor opinion, good administration is the mother-in-law of disorder, since disorder is chaos and chaos produces nothing but confusion, that is to say, death.“I have had an opportunity, through the kindness of a friend, to read the decree of that Government, dated June 18th, of the present year, and the accompanying ‘Instructions for the government of towns and provinces.’ Article 9 of the said decree says that the Superior Government will name a commissioner for each province with the special duty of establishing there the organization set forth in the decree. Very well so far: which of the so-called Presidents of Northern or of Northern and Central Luzón is the commissioner appointed by that government to establish the new organization in that province? Are military commanders named by you for Pangasinán? I would be very much surprised if either of them could show his credentials. Aside from these, the fact remains that in those instructions no mention is made of Presidents of Departments, there is a manifest contradiction in their jurisdictions, since while one calls himself president of a Departmental Government, of Northern Luzón, the other governs the Northern and Central portion of the Island, according to the seals which they use.“And, nevertheless, a person calling himself the General Administrator of the Treasury and the said Governor of theProvince, both of whom live in Tayug, came to this town when the Spaniards voluntarily abandoned it and gathered all the people of means, and drew up an act of election, a copy of which is attached. From it you will see how this organization violates the provisions of the decree of the 18th of June.“Another item: They got up a contract with the people of means of this town, and did the same thing in the other towns, in which contract they exact from us $1250 which they call contributions of war (see document No. 2 attached). Among the doubtful powers of these gentlemen is the one to exact these sums included?“Have they express orders from that Government?“Perhaps these blessed gentlemen—they are high flyers there is no doubt about that,—have struck the clever idea of calling themselves generals, governors, etc., in order to enjoy a certain prestige and to give a certain color of legality to their acts—this, although they don’t know an iota of what they are doing. But what I am sure of, and many other men also, is that there is no order, that here there is not a single person in authority whom to obey. This superfluity of rulers will finally lead to strained relations between them and the towns of this province will end by paying the piper.“But we poor ignorant creatures in so far as the republican form of government is concerned, in order to avoid worse evils took them at their word, obeyed them like automatons, hypnotized by the title of ‘Insurgents’ which they applied to themselves. But when I had an opportunity to read the said decree, doubts were forced upon me, I began to suspect—may God and they pardon me—that they were trying to impose upon us nicely, that, shielded by the motto, ‘have faith in and submit to the will of the country’ they came to these towns ‘for business.’“In order to dissipate this doubt, in order to do away with abuses, if there are abuses, I made up my mind to send you this account of the condition of things here. I flatter myself that when you learn of the lamentable situation of this province, you will soon deign to take steps to establish order, because thereon depends the tranquillity of Pangasinan and in the end a strict compliance with your superior orders.“There will be no limit to the thanks of the people of this province if their petitions secure favourable consideration and an immediate response from the high patriotism and honourable standpoint of the Supreme Dictator of the Philippines.”30Modern Contagious Disease Ward, San Lazaro HospitalModern Contagious Disease Ward, San Lazaro HospitalIt will be noted that the picture thus drawn by Señor Apóstol differs in certain important particulars from that painted in such engaging colours by Judge Blount.In September, 1898, the civil governor of Pangasinán had to have an escort of troops in passing through his province.31On November 20, 1898, the head of the town of San Manuel wrote the provincial governor that his people could no longer support the troops quartered on them, as the adherents of the Katipúnan had burned or stolen all of their property.32The sum total of Blount’s description of affairs in this, the most populous province of Luzón, is derived from the narrative of Messrs. Wilcox and Sargent and reads as follows:—“In Pangasinán ‘the people were all very respectful and polite and offered the hospitality of their homes.’”33Doubtless true, but as a summary of conditions perhaps a trifle sketchy.Nueva EcijaNueva Ecija was the next province visited by Wilcox and Sargent. They have failed to inform us that:—“In December, 1899, certain men charged with being members of this society [Guards of Honour] were interrogated in Nueva Ecija as to their purposes. One of those questioned said:—“‘That their purpose was one day, the date being unknown to the deponent, when the Ilocanos of Batac came, to rise up in arms and kill the Tagálos, both private individuals and public employees, excepting those who agreed to the former, for the reason that honours were granted only to the Tagálos, and but few to the Ilocanos.’”34Blount has assured us that the Filipinos were a unit at Aguinaldo’s back and were and are an united people, andhere are the Ilocanos of Nueva Ecija spoiling his theory by remembering that they are Ilocanos and proposing to kill whom? Not certain individual Filipinos, who might have offended them, but the Tagálogs!That there were other troubles in Nueva Ecija is shown by the following statement:—“On January 7, 1899, the commissioner of Aguinaldo’s treasury sent to collect contributions of war in Nueva Ecija Province reported that the company stationed in San Isidro had become guerillas under command of its officers and opposed his collections, stating that they were acting in compliance with orders from higher authority.”35And now, in following the route taken by our tourist friends, we reach Nueva Vizcaya and the Cagayan valley.1Blount, p. 98.2The constitution used was most certainly not patterned after our own. See p. 265.3Blount, p. 111.4“The light Messrs. Sargent and Wilcox throw on the then universal acknowledgment of the authority of the Aguinaldo government and the perfect tranquillity and public order maintained under it, in the Cagayan valley.”—Blount, pp. 114–115.5“The country in fact, as Aguinaldo always claimed in his proclamations of that period seeking recognition of his government by the Powers, in a state of profound peace and tranquillity—free from brigandage and the like.”—Blount, p. 115.6P.I.R., 958. 11.7P.I.R., 849.8Blount, p. 108.9Ibid., p. 109.10“With a view to showing every one and especially foreigners travelling through the territory of the Republic, that we are not opposed to a good such as a refined and civilized people should have, the fronts of buildings should be whitewashed, streets should be cleaned and fences repaired.”—P.I.R., 292. 3.11“It would be a great satisfaction to me to aid you with all my strength; and the only thing that I see to object to is that the Commanders and Generals in this province are getting pretty abusive toward our brethren and allow themselves to be bribed by the Tagálog merchants so as to allow them to enter Manila with their goods, which is of great assistance to our enemies.“Concerning the contributions which I have collected from the Chinamen, it amounts to more than ₱2,000 here in Tambobong, Meycauayan and Polo alone; and those from the other pueblos have not yet come to see me. Furthermore, I would like an order from you prohibiting the outrages that are being committed against such merchants as are not our enemies; and when the contributions from the Chinamen of all the pueblos shall have been completed, I wish to publish a proclamation forbidding any injury to the Chinamen and any interference with their small business enterprises; since this is a disgrace to our government and to your name; for the natives of hereabouts themselves are the people who are committing said abuses, and in hopes of putting a stop to them, I await your decision at the earliest possible moment concerning the proclamation referred to.”—P.I.R., 355. 11.12“Last night in the place known as Santo Cristo (Manila?) the store of J. Ricafort, a Chinaman, was entered by five soldiers of our army under an unknown commander supposed to be Colonel Paua. They tried to kidnap the wife of Ricafort. At the request of P. García they desisted upon payment of 20 pesos and the agreement that 100 pesos would be paid later. If this was not done they would return and hang them. To quiet these people I gave them a pass to assure their personal safety, and exacted at the same time a promise that they should not report the matter to the Americans. Pauline García is now at Pedro Macati.”—P.I.R., 1187.4.13P.I.R., 223.14“Early in the war we had availed ourselves of a certain tribe, or clan, known as the Maccabebes, who look nowise different from all other Filipinos, but who had, under the Spanish government, by reason of long-standing feuds with their more rebellious neighbours, come to be absolutely loyal to the Spanish authorities. When we came they had transferred that loyalty to us, and had now become a recognized and valuable part of our military force.”—Blount, pp. 333–334.15“On July 28, 1898, the head of the province of Pampanga wrote that the punishment of beating people in the plaza and tying them up so that they would be exposed to the full rays of the sun should be stopped. He complained that these methods had been carried so far that even people of good social position had been so punished. It was especially undesirable to employ such punishments, as the people of other nations weeing them would not believe that the reign of liberty, equality, and fraternity had begun in the Philippines.”—P.I.R., 196.3.16Taylor, 47 AJ.17P.I.R., 944.18“I have the honour to inform you that I have been in this town since yesterday afternoon issuing, in a proclamation, conciliatory orders to the populace that the people comprised in the uprising must present themselves and express aversion and repudiation of it, promising them consideration and pardon as long as they lay aside arms. Incompliance with and following the earlier published proclamation, they presented two guns and innumerable bolos. I hope soon for tranquillity among the people there through these efforts. I ask dispense with assembly of the Junta.Camilin, November 30, 1898.”—P.I.R., 849.19P.I.R., 849.20Ibid.21P.I.R. 849.22Ibid.23Ibid.24Gregorio Aglipay, an Ilocano Catholic priest who became an active Insurgent leader. Later he abandoned the Catholic faith and set up a new church which gained many adherents in the Philippines.25P.I.R., 849.26Ibid.27Ibid.28P.I.R., 1231. 2.29Taylor, 62 AJ.30P.I.R., 77.31P.I.R., 47.7.32Ibid., 951.3.33Blount, p. 109.34P.I.R., 1006.35P.I.R., 870. 4.

Chapter VInsurgent Rule and the Wilcox-Sargent Report

The Good Book says, “By their fruits ye shall know them, whether they be good or evil,” and it seems proper to apply this test to the Insurgents and their government.The extraordinary claim has been advanced that the United States destroyed a republic in the Philippines and erected an oligarchy on its ruins. Various writers and speakers who have not gone so far as this have yet maintained that Aguinaldo and his associates established a real, effective government throughout the archipelago during the interim between his return and the outbreak of hostilities with the United States.In summarizing conditions on September 15, 1898, Judge Blount says:1—“Absolute master of all Luzon outside Manila at this time, with complete machinery of government in each province for all matters of justice, taxes, and police, an army of some 30,000 men at his beck, and his whole people a unit at his back, Aguinaldo formally inaugurated his permanent government—permanent as opposed to the previous provisional government—with a Constitution, Congress, and Cabinet, patterned after our own,2just as the South American republics had done before him when they were freed from Spain, at Malolos, the new capital.”He refers to our utter failure to understand “what a wonderfully complete ‘going concern’ Aguinaldo’s government had become throughout the Philippine Archipelago before the Treaty of Paris was signed.”3He bases his claim as to the excellent state of public order in the Insurgent territory at this time on a report of Paymaster W. E. Wilcox and Naval Cadet L. R. Sargent of the United States Navy, who between October 8 and November 20, 1898, made a long, rapid trip through northern Luzon, traversing the provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Pangasinán, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela, Cagayan, South Ilocos and Union, in the order named, thence proceeding to Dagupan and down the railroad through Pangasinán, Tarlac, Pampanga and Bulacan to Manila.He says that these gentlemen found the authority of Aguinaldo’s government universally acknowledged, the country in a state of perfect tranquillity and public order,4with profound peace and freedom from brigandage and the like.5Now if it be true that Aguinaldo established complete machinery of government throughout all of Luzon outside of Manila for all matters of justice, taxes and police, so that life and property were safe and peace, tranquillity and justice assured, we may well dispense with quibbling as to whether the proper name was applied to such government. But did he?Let us examine with some care the history of the Wilcox-Sargent trip, and see if we can gain further light from other sources relative to the condition of public order in the territory which they traversed.I propose, for the most part, to let the captured Insurgent records speak for themselves, as it is fair to assume that Insurgent officers were at no pains to representconditions as worse than they really were. In view of the fragmentary character of these records, we may also assume that the complete story would be still more interesting and instructive than the one which I have been able to reconstruct.Retreat at Bilibid Prison, ManilaRetreat at Bilibid Prison, ManilaMessrs. Sargent and Wilcox were almost everywhere hospitably received, and were entertained with dinners and dances after the inimitable fashion of the hospitable Filipino everywhere. They gained a very favourable impression of the state of public order in the provinces through which they passed for the reason that from the very start their trip was strictly personally conducted. They saw exactly what it was intended that they should see and very little more. Their progress was several times interrupted for longer or shorter periods without adequate explanation. We now know that on these occasions the scenery so carefully prepared in advance for them had become a little disarranged and needed to be straightened up. Facts which I will cite show that most shocking and horrible events, of which they learned nothing, were occurring in the territory through which they passed.For a considerable time before their departure American visitors had been carefully excluded from the Insurgent territory, but the Filipino leaders decided to let these two men go through it to the end that they might make as favourable a report as possible. How carefully the way was prepared for American visitors is shown by the following telegram:—“San Pedro, Macati,“July 30, 1898.“To the Local Presidente of Pasig:“You are hereby informed that the Americans are going to your town and they will ask your opinion [of what the people desire.—Tr.] You should answer them that we want a republican government. The same answer must be given throughout your jurisdiction.(Signed) “Pío Del Pilar,“General of the Second Zone.”6Now General Pilar had an uncomfortable way of killing people who did not obey his orders, and under the rules of the Insurgent government he was abundantly justified in so doing. His suggestions as to what visiting Americans should be told or shown would be likely to be acceded to. Certainly this seems to have been the case in the present instance, for on the same day General Noriel reported as follows:7“President R. G., Bacoor, from Gen. Noriel, Pineda, July 30, 12.10 P.M.: I inform your excellency that some commissioners of the American admiral are making investigations in the region around Pasay as to the wishes and opinion of the people as to the government. To-day I received a statement from some, giving the answer: ‘Free government under American protectorate [copy mutilated, two or three words missing here] the President.’”Blount quotes with approval Admiral Dewey’s statement made shortly after the return of Wilcox and Sargent that in his opinion their report “contains the most complete and reliable information obtainable in regard to the present state of the northern part of Luzon Island.”8This was true.The admiral might have gone further and said that it contained practically the only information then obtainable in regard to conditions in the territory in question, but as I shall conclusively show it was neither complete nor reliable.Judge Blount in describing the experiences of Messrs. Wilcox and Sargent naïvely makes the statement that:“The tourists were provided at Rosales by order of Aguinaldo with a military escort, ‘which was continued by relays all the way to Aparri.’”9It certainly was!Very little Spanish was then spoken in Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela or Cagayan. What opportunity had these twomen, ignorant as they were of the native dialects, to learn the sinister facts as to what had been and was occurring in the territory which they visited?No one can fail to be delighted with Filipino hospitality, which was lavishly bestowed upon them everywhere, and it is only natural that they should have reported favourably upon what they saw. It was about this time that an order was issued10that fronts of buildings should be whitewashed, streets cleaned and fences repaired with a view to showing every one, and especially travellers through the territory of the Insurgents, that they were “not opposed to a good such as a refined and civilized people should have.” Doubtless the report of the two men from Dewey’s fleet was made in the best of faith. I will now endeavour to show what were some of the actual conditions in the territory through which they passed.BulacanThey first visited Bulacan. They do not mention hearing of the activities of a Chinaman named Ignacio Paua, who had been given the rank of colonel by Aguinaldo and assigned the task of extorting contributions for the revolution from his countrymen. In a letter to Aguinaldo written on July 6, 1898, Paua states that he has collected more than $1,000 from the Chinese of these small towns, but asks for an order “prohibiting the outrages that are being committed against such merchants as are not our enemies.” He further says, “When the contributions from the Chinamen of all the pueblos shall have been completed I wish to publish a proclamation forbidding any injury to the Chinamen and any interference with their small business enterprises,” and adds that “thenatives hereabouts themselves are the people who are committing said abuses.”11Apparently Paua had no objection to the committing of outrages against merchants that were the enemies of the cause, nor does he seem to have objected to injury to Chinamen before contributions were completed. His own methods were none too mild. On August 27, 1898, General Pío del Pilar telegraphed Aguinaldo that five Insurgent soldiers, under a leader supposed to be Paua, had entered the store of a Chinaman, and tried to kidnap his wife, but had left on the payment of $10 and a promise to pay $50 later, saying that they would return and hang their fellow countryman if the latter amount was not forthcoming.12Paua was later made a general in consideration of his valuable services!PampangaOur travellers next visited Pampanga. Here they apparently overlooked the fact that Aguinaldo did not have “his whole people a unit at his back.” The citizens of Macabebe seem not to have approved of the Aguinaldo regime, for the Insurgent records show that:—“Representatives of the towns of Pampanga assembled in San Fernando on June 26, 1898, and under the presidency of General Maximino Hizon agreed to yield him complete ‘obedience as military governor of the province and representative of the illustrious dictator of these Philippine Islands.’ The town of Macabebe refused to send any delegates to this gathering.”13It may be incidentally mentioned that Blount has passed somewhat lightly over the fact that he himself during his army days commanded an aggregation of sturdy citizens from this town, known as Macabebe scouts, who diligently shot the Insurgents full of holes whenever they got a chance. He incorrectly refers to them as a “tribe or clan.”14It is absurd to call them a tribe. They are merely the inhabitants of a town which has long been at odds with the neighbouring towns of the province.Things had come to a bad pass in Pampanga when its head wrote that the punishment of beating people in the plaza and tying them up so that they would be exposed to the full rays of the sun should be stopped. He argued that such methods would not lead the people of othernations to believe that the reign of liberty, equality and fraternity had begun in the Philippines.15When it is remembered that persons tied up and exposed to the full rays of the sun in the Philippine lowlands soon die, in a most uncomfortable manner, we shall agree with the head of this province that this custom has its objectionable features!TarlacWhile the failure of Messrs. Wilcox and Sargent to learn of the relations between the Tagalogs of Macabebe and their neighbours, or of the fact that people were being publicly tortured in Pampanga, is perhaps not to be wondered at under the circumstances, it is hard to see how they could have failed to hear something of the seriously disturbed conditions in Tarlac if they so much as got off the train there.On August 24 the commissioner in charge of elections in that province asked for troops to protect him, in holding them in the town of Urdaneta, against a party of two thousand men of the place, who were going to prevent them.On September 22 the secretary of the interior ordered that the requirements of the decree of June 18, establishing municipal governments, should be strictly complied with, as in many of the towns “the inhabitants continue to follow the ancient methods by which the friars exploited us at their pleasure and which showed their great contempt for the law.”16Bilibid Prison HospitalBilibid Prison HospitalThe Philippine Government has been charged with the neglect of prisoners. The truth is that it has made the prisons of the Philippines the most sanitary structures of their kind in the tropics, and gives its sick prisoners the best of care.The following letter to Aguinaldo, from Juan Nepomuceno, Representative from Tarlac, speaks for itself as to conditions in that province on December 27, 1898, shortly after the American travellers passed through it on their return:—“I regret exceedingly being compelled to report to you that since Sunday the 25th instant scandalous acts have been going on in the Province of Tarlac, which I represent. On the night of the Sunday mentioned the entire family of the Local Chief of Bamban was murdered, and his house and warehouse were burned. Also the Tax Commissioner and the Secretary, Fabian Ignacio, have been murdered. Last night Señor Jacinto Vega was kidnapped at the town of Gerona; and seven travellers were murdered at O’Donnel, which town was pillaged, as well as the barrio of Matayumtayum of the town of La Paz. On that day various suspicious parties were seen in the town of Pañique and in the same barrio, according to reliable reports which I have just received.“All this general demoralization of the province, according to the information which I have obtained, is due to the fact that the province is dissatisfied with the Provincial Chief, Señor Alfonso Ramos, and with Major Manuel de León; for this is substantiated by the fact that all the events described occurred since last Sunday, when Señor Alfonso Ramos returned, to take charge of the Office of Provincial President, after having been detained for several days in this town. Wherefore, I believe that in order to restore tranquillity in the province, consideration be given to various documents that have been presented to the Government and to the standing Committee of Justice; and that there be removed from office Señor Alfonso Ramos, as well as said Señor Manuel de León, who has no prestige whatever in this province. Moreover on the day when fifty-four soldiers of the command deserted, he himself left for San Fernando, Pampanga.”17On November 30, 1898, General Macabulos sent Aguinaldo a telegram18from which it evidently appearsthat there was an armed uprising in Tarlac which he was endeavouring to quell and that he hoped for early success. Apparently, however, his efforts to secure tranquillity were not entirely successful, for on December 18 he telegraphed Aguinaldo as follows:—“In a telegram dated to-day Lieut. Paraso, commanding a detachment at Camilin, informs me that last night his detachment was attacked by Tulisanes (robbers). The fire lasted four hours without any casualties among our men. This afternoon received another from the captain commanding said detachment, informing me of the same, and that nothing new has occurred. The people of the town await with anxiety the result of the charges they have made, especially against the local president and the justice of the peace, the original of which I sent to your high authority.”19Obviously the police machinery was not working quite smoothly when a detachment of Insurgent troops could be kept under fire for four hours by a robber band, and perhaps the attacking party were not all “robbers.” Soldiers do not ordinarily carry much to steal.We obtain some further information from the following telegram of December 27, 1898, sent by the secretary of the interior to the President of the Revolutionary Government:—“Most urgent. According to reports no excitement except in Bangbang, Tarlac, which at 12 A.M., 25th, was attacked by Tulisanes [bandits or robbers,—D.C.W.]. The local presidente with his patrols arrested six of them. On continuing the pursuit he met in Talacon a party too large to attack. At 7 A.M. of the 26th the town was again attacked by criminals, who killed the tax collector, and others who burnt some houses, among them that of the local presidente, and his stables, in which he lost two horses. I report this for your information.”20Evidently tax collectors were not popular in Tarlac.Still further light is shed on the situation by a telegram from the secretary of the interior to Aguinaldo, dated December 28, 1898:—“According to my information the excitement in Tarlac increases. I do not think that the people of the province would have committed such barbarities by themselves. For this reason the silence of General Macabulos is suspicious; to speak frankly, it encourages the rebels. Some seven hundred of them, with one hundred and fifty rifles, entered Pañique, seized the arms of the police, the town funds, and attacked the houses of the people. I report this for your information. All necessary measures will be taken.”21Note also the following from the secretary of the interior, under date of December 27, 1898, to Aguinaldo:—“I have just learned that not only in Bangbang, but also in Gerona, Onell, and other places in Tarlac, men have been assaulted by numerous Tulisanes, armed with rifles and bolos, who are killing and capturing the inhabitants and attacking travellers, robbing them of everything they have. The President should declare at once that that province is in state of siege, applying martial law to the criminals. That—(remainder missing).”22The secretary of agriculture took a more cheerful view of the situation. Under date of December 28 he telegraphed Aguinaldo as follows:—“The events in Bangbang, Tarlac Province, according to a witness here worthy of credit, have arisen from an attempt to procure vengeance on the local presidente, and robbery of Chinese shops. Hence they are without political importance. The tax collector killed, and a countryman servant of the local presidente wounded. They burnt two houses of the local presidente, a stable, and a warehouse for sugar-cane.”23Obviously the robbery of Chinese shops and the killing of a few individuals was at first considered by the secretary of agriculture to be without political importance. Evidentlyhe changed his mind, however, for on the same day, December 28, 1898, he telegraphed Aguinaldo as follows:—“I think it necessary to send Aglipay24to quiet Tarlac. Send for him. If you desire, I will go to Tarlac to investigate the causes of the disorders, in order to find a remedy for them.”25At this stage of events Aguinaldo was summoned to Malolos by a telegram from Mabini under date of December 29, which reads as follows:—“Most urgent. You must come here immediately. Trías is sick. We can come to no decision in regard to the Tarlac matter. Cannot constitute a government without you.”26The measures which were actually taken are set forth in another telegram of the same date from the secretaries of war and interior to Aguinaldo, which reads as follows:—“We have sent civil and military commissioners to Tarlac; among them the Director of War and persons of much moral influence, in order to stifle the disturbances. The necessary instructions have been given them and full powers for the purpose, and as far as possible to satisfy the people. Have also sent there six companies of soldiers with explicit instructions to their commander to guard only the towns, and make the people return to a peaceful life, using a policy of attraction for the purpose.”27Let us hope that the commander was able to attract the people with his six companies of soldiers, and make them return to a peaceful life.Still further light is thrown on the situation in Tarlac by the following extract from “Episodios de la Revolucion Filipina” by Padre Joaquin D. Duran, an Augustinian priest, Manila, 1901, page 71:—“At that period the Filipinos, loving order, having been deceived of the emancipation promise, changed by the Katipúnan into crimes and attacks on the municipality of the pueblos, discontentbroke out in all parts, and, although latent in some provinces, in that of Tarlac was materialized in an ex-sergeant of the late Spanish civil guard. A valorous and determined man, he lifted up his flag against that of Aguinaldo. One hundred rifles were sufficient to terrorize the inhabitants of said province, crushing the enthusiastic members of the revolutionary party.... Having taken possession of four towns, Pecheche would have been everywhere successful if ambition and pride had not directed his footsteps. In January, 1899, the Aguinaldista commander of Tarlac province, afraid that his whole province would espouse the cause of the sergeant, attempted by every means in his power to interrupt his career, not hesitating to avail himself of crime to destroy the influence of Pecheche with the many people who had been incensed by the Katipúnan and had in turn become firm partisans of the Guards of Honour.“The Ilocano Tranquilino Pagarigan, local presidente at that time of Camiling, served as an admirable instrument for this purpose.... Pecheche was invited to a solemn festivity organized by Tranquilino, who pretended to recognize him as his chief, and rendering himself a vassal by taking an oath to his flag. He accepted the invitation, and after the mass which was celebrated went to a meal at the convent, where, after the meal was over, the members of the K.K.K. surrounded Pecheche and 10 of his officers and killed them with bolos or tied them and threw them out of the windows and down the staircase. Some priests were held captive in the building where this took place and were informed of what had taken place immediately afterwards.”This extract shows how easy it then was for any man of determination to acquire a following, especially if he could dispose of a few rifles. It also gives an excellent idea of the methods employed by the Insurgents in dealing with those who opposed their rule.General Fred D. Grant once told me, with much amusement, of an interesting experience during a fight on Mt. Arayat in Pampanga. His men took a trench and captured some of its occupants. Several of these were impressed as guides and required to show the attacking forces the locations of other trenches. At first they served unwillingly, but presently became enthusiasticand rushed the works of their quondam fellow-soldiers in the van of the American attack. Finally they begged for guns. Grant added that he could start from Bacolor for San Fernando any morning with a supply of rifles and pick up volunteers enough to capture the place, and that on the return trip he could get enough more to attack Bacolor!PangasinánAnd now we come to Pangasinán, the most populous province of Luzon, and the third in the Philippines in number of inhabitants.“In July, 1898, the officer in Dagupan wrote to the commanding general of Tarlac Province that he would like to know whom he was required to obey, as there were so many officials of all ranks who gave him orders that it was impossible for him to know where he stood.”28In a letter dated August 17, 1898, to Aguinaldo, Benito Legarda complained that a bad impression had been produced by the news from Dagupan that when the Insurgents entered there, after many outrages committed upon the inmates of a girls’ school, every officer had carried off those who suited him.29What should we say if United States troops entered the town of Wellesley and raped numerous students at the college, the officers subsequently taking away with them the young ladies who happened to suit them? Yet things of this sort hardly caused a ripple in the country then under the Insurgent flag, and I learned of this particular incident by accident, although I have known Legarda for years.I quote the following general description of conditions in Pangasinán from a letter addressed by Cecilio Apóstol to General Aguinaldo on July 6, 1898:—“You probably know that in the Province of Pangasinán, of one of the towns in which your humble servant is a resident,the Spanish flag through our good fortune has not flown here for the past few months, since the few Spaniards who lived here have concentrated in Dagupan, a place not difficult of attack, as is said.“But this is what is going on in this Province” There exist here two Departmental Governments, one calling itself that of Northern Luzón and of which Don Vicente del Prado is the President, and the other which calls itself that of Northern and Central Luzón, presided over by Don Juliano Paraiso. Besides these two gentlemen, there are two governors in the province(!) one Civil Political Military, living in Lingayen, named Don Felipe J. Bartolomé, and another living in Real Guerrero, a town of Tayug, named Don Vicente Estrella. And in addition there are a large number of Administrators, Inspectors, Military Judges, Generals, ... they cannot be counted. It is a pandemonium of which even Christ, who permits it, cannot make anything. Indeed, the situation is insupportable. It reminds me of the schism in the middle ages when there were two Popes, both legitimate, neither true. Things are as clear as thick chocolate, as the Spaniards say. In my poor opinion, good administration is the mother-in-law of disorder, since disorder is chaos and chaos produces nothing but confusion, that is to say, death.“I have had an opportunity, through the kindness of a friend, to read the decree of that Government, dated June 18th, of the present year, and the accompanying ‘Instructions for the government of towns and provinces.’ Article 9 of the said decree says that the Superior Government will name a commissioner for each province with the special duty of establishing there the organization set forth in the decree. Very well so far: which of the so-called Presidents of Northern or of Northern and Central Luzón is the commissioner appointed by that government to establish the new organization in that province? Are military commanders named by you for Pangasinán? I would be very much surprised if either of them could show his credentials. Aside from these, the fact remains that in those instructions no mention is made of Presidents of Departments, there is a manifest contradiction in their jurisdictions, since while one calls himself president of a Departmental Government, of Northern Luzón, the other governs the Northern and Central portion of the Island, according to the seals which they use.“And, nevertheless, a person calling himself the General Administrator of the Treasury and the said Governor of theProvince, both of whom live in Tayug, came to this town when the Spaniards voluntarily abandoned it and gathered all the people of means, and drew up an act of election, a copy of which is attached. From it you will see how this organization violates the provisions of the decree of the 18th of June.“Another item: They got up a contract with the people of means of this town, and did the same thing in the other towns, in which contract they exact from us $1250 which they call contributions of war (see document No. 2 attached). Among the doubtful powers of these gentlemen is the one to exact these sums included?“Have they express orders from that Government?“Perhaps these blessed gentlemen—they are high flyers there is no doubt about that,—have struck the clever idea of calling themselves generals, governors, etc., in order to enjoy a certain prestige and to give a certain color of legality to their acts—this, although they don’t know an iota of what they are doing. But what I am sure of, and many other men also, is that there is no order, that here there is not a single person in authority whom to obey. This superfluity of rulers will finally lead to strained relations between them and the towns of this province will end by paying the piper.“But we poor ignorant creatures in so far as the republican form of government is concerned, in order to avoid worse evils took them at their word, obeyed them like automatons, hypnotized by the title of ‘Insurgents’ which they applied to themselves. But when I had an opportunity to read the said decree, doubts were forced upon me, I began to suspect—may God and they pardon me—that they were trying to impose upon us nicely, that, shielded by the motto, ‘have faith in and submit to the will of the country’ they came to these towns ‘for business.’“In order to dissipate this doubt, in order to do away with abuses, if there are abuses, I made up my mind to send you this account of the condition of things here. I flatter myself that when you learn of the lamentable situation of this province, you will soon deign to take steps to establish order, because thereon depends the tranquillity of Pangasinan and in the end a strict compliance with your superior orders.“There will be no limit to the thanks of the people of this province if their petitions secure favourable consideration and an immediate response from the high patriotism and honourable standpoint of the Supreme Dictator of the Philippines.”30Modern Contagious Disease Ward, San Lazaro HospitalModern Contagious Disease Ward, San Lazaro HospitalIt will be noted that the picture thus drawn by Señor Apóstol differs in certain important particulars from that painted in such engaging colours by Judge Blount.In September, 1898, the civil governor of Pangasinán had to have an escort of troops in passing through his province.31On November 20, 1898, the head of the town of San Manuel wrote the provincial governor that his people could no longer support the troops quartered on them, as the adherents of the Katipúnan had burned or stolen all of their property.32The sum total of Blount’s description of affairs in this, the most populous province of Luzón, is derived from the narrative of Messrs. Wilcox and Sargent and reads as follows:—“In Pangasinán ‘the people were all very respectful and polite and offered the hospitality of their homes.’”33Doubtless true, but as a summary of conditions perhaps a trifle sketchy.Nueva EcijaNueva Ecija was the next province visited by Wilcox and Sargent. They have failed to inform us that:—“In December, 1899, certain men charged with being members of this society [Guards of Honour] were interrogated in Nueva Ecija as to their purposes. One of those questioned said:—“‘That their purpose was one day, the date being unknown to the deponent, when the Ilocanos of Batac came, to rise up in arms and kill the Tagálos, both private individuals and public employees, excepting those who agreed to the former, for the reason that honours were granted only to the Tagálos, and but few to the Ilocanos.’”34Blount has assured us that the Filipinos were a unit at Aguinaldo’s back and were and are an united people, andhere are the Ilocanos of Nueva Ecija spoiling his theory by remembering that they are Ilocanos and proposing to kill whom? Not certain individual Filipinos, who might have offended them, but the Tagálogs!That there were other troubles in Nueva Ecija is shown by the following statement:—“On January 7, 1899, the commissioner of Aguinaldo’s treasury sent to collect contributions of war in Nueva Ecija Province reported that the company stationed in San Isidro had become guerillas under command of its officers and opposed his collections, stating that they were acting in compliance with orders from higher authority.”35And now, in following the route taken by our tourist friends, we reach Nueva Vizcaya and the Cagayan valley.

The Good Book says, “By their fruits ye shall know them, whether they be good or evil,” and it seems proper to apply this test to the Insurgents and their government.

The extraordinary claim has been advanced that the United States destroyed a republic in the Philippines and erected an oligarchy on its ruins. Various writers and speakers who have not gone so far as this have yet maintained that Aguinaldo and his associates established a real, effective government throughout the archipelago during the interim between his return and the outbreak of hostilities with the United States.

In summarizing conditions on September 15, 1898, Judge Blount says:1—

“Absolute master of all Luzon outside Manila at this time, with complete machinery of government in each province for all matters of justice, taxes, and police, an army of some 30,000 men at his beck, and his whole people a unit at his back, Aguinaldo formally inaugurated his permanent government—permanent as opposed to the previous provisional government—with a Constitution, Congress, and Cabinet, patterned after our own,2just as the South American republics had done before him when they were freed from Spain, at Malolos, the new capital.”

He refers to our utter failure to understand “what a wonderfully complete ‘going concern’ Aguinaldo’s government had become throughout the Philippine Archipelago before the Treaty of Paris was signed.”3

He bases his claim as to the excellent state of public order in the Insurgent territory at this time on a report of Paymaster W. E. Wilcox and Naval Cadet L. R. Sargent of the United States Navy, who between October 8 and November 20, 1898, made a long, rapid trip through northern Luzon, traversing the provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Pangasinán, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela, Cagayan, South Ilocos and Union, in the order named, thence proceeding to Dagupan and down the railroad through Pangasinán, Tarlac, Pampanga and Bulacan to Manila.

He says that these gentlemen found the authority of Aguinaldo’s government universally acknowledged, the country in a state of perfect tranquillity and public order,4with profound peace and freedom from brigandage and the like.5

Now if it be true that Aguinaldo established complete machinery of government throughout all of Luzon outside of Manila for all matters of justice, taxes and police, so that life and property were safe and peace, tranquillity and justice assured, we may well dispense with quibbling as to whether the proper name was applied to such government. But did he?

Let us examine with some care the history of the Wilcox-Sargent trip, and see if we can gain further light from other sources relative to the condition of public order in the territory which they traversed.

I propose, for the most part, to let the captured Insurgent records speak for themselves, as it is fair to assume that Insurgent officers were at no pains to representconditions as worse than they really were. In view of the fragmentary character of these records, we may also assume that the complete story would be still more interesting and instructive than the one which I have been able to reconstruct.

Retreat at Bilibid Prison, ManilaRetreat at Bilibid Prison, Manila

Retreat at Bilibid Prison, Manila

Messrs. Sargent and Wilcox were almost everywhere hospitably received, and were entertained with dinners and dances after the inimitable fashion of the hospitable Filipino everywhere. They gained a very favourable impression of the state of public order in the provinces through which they passed for the reason that from the very start their trip was strictly personally conducted. They saw exactly what it was intended that they should see and very little more. Their progress was several times interrupted for longer or shorter periods without adequate explanation. We now know that on these occasions the scenery so carefully prepared in advance for them had become a little disarranged and needed to be straightened up. Facts which I will cite show that most shocking and horrible events, of which they learned nothing, were occurring in the territory through which they passed.

For a considerable time before their departure American visitors had been carefully excluded from the Insurgent territory, but the Filipino leaders decided to let these two men go through it to the end that they might make as favourable a report as possible. How carefully the way was prepared for American visitors is shown by the following telegram:—

“San Pedro, Macati,“July 30, 1898.“To the Local Presidente of Pasig:“You are hereby informed that the Americans are going to your town and they will ask your opinion [of what the people desire.—Tr.] You should answer them that we want a republican government. The same answer must be given throughout your jurisdiction.(Signed) “Pío Del Pilar,“General of the Second Zone.”6

“San Pedro, Macati,

“July 30, 1898.

“To the Local Presidente of Pasig:

“You are hereby informed that the Americans are going to your town and they will ask your opinion [of what the people desire.—Tr.] You should answer them that we want a republican government. The same answer must be given throughout your jurisdiction.

(Signed) “Pío Del Pilar,

“General of the Second Zone.”6

Now General Pilar had an uncomfortable way of killing people who did not obey his orders, and under the rules of the Insurgent government he was abundantly justified in so doing. His suggestions as to what visiting Americans should be told or shown would be likely to be acceded to. Certainly this seems to have been the case in the present instance, for on the same day General Noriel reported as follows:7

“President R. G., Bacoor, from Gen. Noriel, Pineda, July 30, 12.10 P.M.: I inform your excellency that some commissioners of the American admiral are making investigations in the region around Pasay as to the wishes and opinion of the people as to the government. To-day I received a statement from some, giving the answer: ‘Free government under American protectorate [copy mutilated, two or three words missing here] the President.’”

Blount quotes with approval Admiral Dewey’s statement made shortly after the return of Wilcox and Sargent that in his opinion their report “contains the most complete and reliable information obtainable in regard to the present state of the northern part of Luzon Island.”8This was true.

The admiral might have gone further and said that it contained practically the only information then obtainable in regard to conditions in the territory in question, but as I shall conclusively show it was neither complete nor reliable.

Judge Blount in describing the experiences of Messrs. Wilcox and Sargent naïvely makes the statement that:

“The tourists were provided at Rosales by order of Aguinaldo with a military escort, ‘which was continued by relays all the way to Aparri.’”9

It certainly was!

Very little Spanish was then spoken in Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela or Cagayan. What opportunity had these twomen, ignorant as they were of the native dialects, to learn the sinister facts as to what had been and was occurring in the territory which they visited?

No one can fail to be delighted with Filipino hospitality, which was lavishly bestowed upon them everywhere, and it is only natural that they should have reported favourably upon what they saw. It was about this time that an order was issued10that fronts of buildings should be whitewashed, streets cleaned and fences repaired with a view to showing every one, and especially travellers through the territory of the Insurgents, that they were “not opposed to a good such as a refined and civilized people should have.” Doubtless the report of the two men from Dewey’s fleet was made in the best of faith. I will now endeavour to show what were some of the actual conditions in the territory through which they passed.

BulacanThey first visited Bulacan. They do not mention hearing of the activities of a Chinaman named Ignacio Paua, who had been given the rank of colonel by Aguinaldo and assigned the task of extorting contributions for the revolution from his countrymen. In a letter to Aguinaldo written on July 6, 1898, Paua states that he has collected more than $1,000 from the Chinese of these small towns, but asks for an order “prohibiting the outrages that are being committed against such merchants as are not our enemies.” He further says, “When the contributions from the Chinamen of all the pueblos shall have been completed I wish to publish a proclamation forbidding any injury to the Chinamen and any interference with their small business enterprises,” and adds that “thenatives hereabouts themselves are the people who are committing said abuses.”11Apparently Paua had no objection to the committing of outrages against merchants that were the enemies of the cause, nor does he seem to have objected to injury to Chinamen before contributions were completed. His own methods were none too mild. On August 27, 1898, General Pío del Pilar telegraphed Aguinaldo that five Insurgent soldiers, under a leader supposed to be Paua, had entered the store of a Chinaman, and tried to kidnap his wife, but had left on the payment of $10 and a promise to pay $50 later, saying that they would return and hang their fellow countryman if the latter amount was not forthcoming.12Paua was later made a general in consideration of his valuable services!

Bulacan

They first visited Bulacan. They do not mention hearing of the activities of a Chinaman named Ignacio Paua, who had been given the rank of colonel by Aguinaldo and assigned the task of extorting contributions for the revolution from his countrymen. In a letter to Aguinaldo written on July 6, 1898, Paua states that he has collected more than $1,000 from the Chinese of these small towns, but asks for an order “prohibiting the outrages that are being committed against such merchants as are not our enemies.” He further says, “When the contributions from the Chinamen of all the pueblos shall have been completed I wish to publish a proclamation forbidding any injury to the Chinamen and any interference with their small business enterprises,” and adds that “thenatives hereabouts themselves are the people who are committing said abuses.”11Apparently Paua had no objection to the committing of outrages against merchants that were the enemies of the cause, nor does he seem to have objected to injury to Chinamen before contributions were completed. His own methods were none too mild. On August 27, 1898, General Pío del Pilar telegraphed Aguinaldo that five Insurgent soldiers, under a leader supposed to be Paua, had entered the store of a Chinaman, and tried to kidnap his wife, but had left on the payment of $10 and a promise to pay $50 later, saying that they would return and hang their fellow countryman if the latter amount was not forthcoming.12Paua was later made a general in consideration of his valuable services!

Apparently Paua had no objection to the committing of outrages against merchants that were the enemies of the cause, nor does he seem to have objected to injury to Chinamen before contributions were completed. His own methods were none too mild. On August 27, 1898, General Pío del Pilar telegraphed Aguinaldo that five Insurgent soldiers, under a leader supposed to be Paua, had entered the store of a Chinaman, and tried to kidnap his wife, but had left on the payment of $10 and a promise to pay $50 later, saying that they would return and hang their fellow countryman if the latter amount was not forthcoming.12

Paua was later made a general in consideration of his valuable services!

PampangaOur travellers next visited Pampanga. Here they apparently overlooked the fact that Aguinaldo did not have “his whole people a unit at his back.” The citizens of Macabebe seem not to have approved of the Aguinaldo regime, for the Insurgent records show that:—“Representatives of the towns of Pampanga assembled in San Fernando on June 26, 1898, and under the presidency of General Maximino Hizon agreed to yield him complete ‘obedience as military governor of the province and representative of the illustrious dictator of these Philippine Islands.’ The town of Macabebe refused to send any delegates to this gathering.”13It may be incidentally mentioned that Blount has passed somewhat lightly over the fact that he himself during his army days commanded an aggregation of sturdy citizens from this town, known as Macabebe scouts, who diligently shot the Insurgents full of holes whenever they got a chance. He incorrectly refers to them as a “tribe or clan.”14It is absurd to call them a tribe. They are merely the inhabitants of a town which has long been at odds with the neighbouring towns of the province.Things had come to a bad pass in Pampanga when its head wrote that the punishment of beating people in the plaza and tying them up so that they would be exposed to the full rays of the sun should be stopped. He argued that such methods would not lead the people of othernations to believe that the reign of liberty, equality and fraternity had begun in the Philippines.15When it is remembered that persons tied up and exposed to the full rays of the sun in the Philippine lowlands soon die, in a most uncomfortable manner, we shall agree with the head of this province that this custom has its objectionable features!

Pampanga

Our travellers next visited Pampanga. Here they apparently overlooked the fact that Aguinaldo did not have “his whole people a unit at his back.” The citizens of Macabebe seem not to have approved of the Aguinaldo regime, for the Insurgent records show that:—“Representatives of the towns of Pampanga assembled in San Fernando on June 26, 1898, and under the presidency of General Maximino Hizon agreed to yield him complete ‘obedience as military governor of the province and representative of the illustrious dictator of these Philippine Islands.’ The town of Macabebe refused to send any delegates to this gathering.”13It may be incidentally mentioned that Blount has passed somewhat lightly over the fact that he himself during his army days commanded an aggregation of sturdy citizens from this town, known as Macabebe scouts, who diligently shot the Insurgents full of holes whenever they got a chance. He incorrectly refers to them as a “tribe or clan.”14It is absurd to call them a tribe. They are merely the inhabitants of a town which has long been at odds with the neighbouring towns of the province.Things had come to a bad pass in Pampanga when its head wrote that the punishment of beating people in the plaza and tying them up so that they would be exposed to the full rays of the sun should be stopped. He argued that such methods would not lead the people of othernations to believe that the reign of liberty, equality and fraternity had begun in the Philippines.15When it is remembered that persons tied up and exposed to the full rays of the sun in the Philippine lowlands soon die, in a most uncomfortable manner, we shall agree with the head of this province that this custom has its objectionable features!

“Representatives of the towns of Pampanga assembled in San Fernando on June 26, 1898, and under the presidency of General Maximino Hizon agreed to yield him complete ‘obedience as military governor of the province and representative of the illustrious dictator of these Philippine Islands.’ The town of Macabebe refused to send any delegates to this gathering.”13

It may be incidentally mentioned that Blount has passed somewhat lightly over the fact that he himself during his army days commanded an aggregation of sturdy citizens from this town, known as Macabebe scouts, who diligently shot the Insurgents full of holes whenever they got a chance. He incorrectly refers to them as a “tribe or clan.”14It is absurd to call them a tribe. They are merely the inhabitants of a town which has long been at odds with the neighbouring towns of the province.

Things had come to a bad pass in Pampanga when its head wrote that the punishment of beating people in the plaza and tying them up so that they would be exposed to the full rays of the sun should be stopped. He argued that such methods would not lead the people of othernations to believe that the reign of liberty, equality and fraternity had begun in the Philippines.15

When it is remembered that persons tied up and exposed to the full rays of the sun in the Philippine lowlands soon die, in a most uncomfortable manner, we shall agree with the head of this province that this custom has its objectionable features!

TarlacWhile the failure of Messrs. Wilcox and Sargent to learn of the relations between the Tagalogs of Macabebe and their neighbours, or of the fact that people were being publicly tortured in Pampanga, is perhaps not to be wondered at under the circumstances, it is hard to see how they could have failed to hear something of the seriously disturbed conditions in Tarlac if they so much as got off the train there.On August 24 the commissioner in charge of elections in that province asked for troops to protect him, in holding them in the town of Urdaneta, against a party of two thousand men of the place, who were going to prevent them.On September 22 the secretary of the interior ordered that the requirements of the decree of June 18, establishing municipal governments, should be strictly complied with, as in many of the towns “the inhabitants continue to follow the ancient methods by which the friars exploited us at their pleasure and which showed their great contempt for the law.”16Bilibid Prison HospitalBilibid Prison HospitalThe Philippine Government has been charged with the neglect of prisoners. The truth is that it has made the prisons of the Philippines the most sanitary structures of their kind in the tropics, and gives its sick prisoners the best of care.The following letter to Aguinaldo, from Juan Nepomuceno, Representative from Tarlac, speaks for itself as to conditions in that province on December 27, 1898, shortly after the American travellers passed through it on their return:—“I regret exceedingly being compelled to report to you that since Sunday the 25th instant scandalous acts have been going on in the Province of Tarlac, which I represent. On the night of the Sunday mentioned the entire family of the Local Chief of Bamban was murdered, and his house and warehouse were burned. Also the Tax Commissioner and the Secretary, Fabian Ignacio, have been murdered. Last night Señor Jacinto Vega was kidnapped at the town of Gerona; and seven travellers were murdered at O’Donnel, which town was pillaged, as well as the barrio of Matayumtayum of the town of La Paz. On that day various suspicious parties were seen in the town of Pañique and in the same barrio, according to reliable reports which I have just received.“All this general demoralization of the province, according to the information which I have obtained, is due to the fact that the province is dissatisfied with the Provincial Chief, Señor Alfonso Ramos, and with Major Manuel de León; for this is substantiated by the fact that all the events described occurred since last Sunday, when Señor Alfonso Ramos returned, to take charge of the Office of Provincial President, after having been detained for several days in this town. Wherefore, I believe that in order to restore tranquillity in the province, consideration be given to various documents that have been presented to the Government and to the standing Committee of Justice; and that there be removed from office Señor Alfonso Ramos, as well as said Señor Manuel de León, who has no prestige whatever in this province. Moreover on the day when fifty-four soldiers of the command deserted, he himself left for San Fernando, Pampanga.”17On November 30, 1898, General Macabulos sent Aguinaldo a telegram18from which it evidently appearsthat there was an armed uprising in Tarlac which he was endeavouring to quell and that he hoped for early success. Apparently, however, his efforts to secure tranquillity were not entirely successful, for on December 18 he telegraphed Aguinaldo as follows:—“In a telegram dated to-day Lieut. Paraso, commanding a detachment at Camilin, informs me that last night his detachment was attacked by Tulisanes (robbers). The fire lasted four hours without any casualties among our men. This afternoon received another from the captain commanding said detachment, informing me of the same, and that nothing new has occurred. The people of the town await with anxiety the result of the charges they have made, especially against the local president and the justice of the peace, the original of which I sent to your high authority.”19Obviously the police machinery was not working quite smoothly when a detachment of Insurgent troops could be kept under fire for four hours by a robber band, and perhaps the attacking party were not all “robbers.” Soldiers do not ordinarily carry much to steal.We obtain some further information from the following telegram of December 27, 1898, sent by the secretary of the interior to the President of the Revolutionary Government:—“Most urgent. According to reports no excitement except in Bangbang, Tarlac, which at 12 A.M., 25th, was attacked by Tulisanes [bandits or robbers,—D.C.W.]. The local presidente with his patrols arrested six of them. On continuing the pursuit he met in Talacon a party too large to attack. At 7 A.M. of the 26th the town was again attacked by criminals, who killed the tax collector, and others who burnt some houses, among them that of the local presidente, and his stables, in which he lost two horses. I report this for your information.”20Evidently tax collectors were not popular in Tarlac.Still further light is shed on the situation by a telegram from the secretary of the interior to Aguinaldo, dated December 28, 1898:—“According to my information the excitement in Tarlac increases. I do not think that the people of the province would have committed such barbarities by themselves. For this reason the silence of General Macabulos is suspicious; to speak frankly, it encourages the rebels. Some seven hundred of them, with one hundred and fifty rifles, entered Pañique, seized the arms of the police, the town funds, and attacked the houses of the people. I report this for your information. All necessary measures will be taken.”21Note also the following from the secretary of the interior, under date of December 27, 1898, to Aguinaldo:—“I have just learned that not only in Bangbang, but also in Gerona, Onell, and other places in Tarlac, men have been assaulted by numerous Tulisanes, armed with rifles and bolos, who are killing and capturing the inhabitants and attacking travellers, robbing them of everything they have. The President should declare at once that that province is in state of siege, applying martial law to the criminals. That—(remainder missing).”22The secretary of agriculture took a more cheerful view of the situation. Under date of December 28 he telegraphed Aguinaldo as follows:—“The events in Bangbang, Tarlac Province, according to a witness here worthy of credit, have arisen from an attempt to procure vengeance on the local presidente, and robbery of Chinese shops. Hence they are without political importance. The tax collector killed, and a countryman servant of the local presidente wounded. They burnt two houses of the local presidente, a stable, and a warehouse for sugar-cane.”23Obviously the robbery of Chinese shops and the killing of a few individuals was at first considered by the secretary of agriculture to be without political importance. Evidentlyhe changed his mind, however, for on the same day, December 28, 1898, he telegraphed Aguinaldo as follows:—“I think it necessary to send Aglipay24to quiet Tarlac. Send for him. If you desire, I will go to Tarlac to investigate the causes of the disorders, in order to find a remedy for them.”25At this stage of events Aguinaldo was summoned to Malolos by a telegram from Mabini under date of December 29, which reads as follows:—“Most urgent. You must come here immediately. Trías is sick. We can come to no decision in regard to the Tarlac matter. Cannot constitute a government without you.”26The measures which were actually taken are set forth in another telegram of the same date from the secretaries of war and interior to Aguinaldo, which reads as follows:—“We have sent civil and military commissioners to Tarlac; among them the Director of War and persons of much moral influence, in order to stifle the disturbances. The necessary instructions have been given them and full powers for the purpose, and as far as possible to satisfy the people. Have also sent there six companies of soldiers with explicit instructions to their commander to guard only the towns, and make the people return to a peaceful life, using a policy of attraction for the purpose.”27Let us hope that the commander was able to attract the people with his six companies of soldiers, and make them return to a peaceful life.Still further light is thrown on the situation in Tarlac by the following extract from “Episodios de la Revolucion Filipina” by Padre Joaquin D. Duran, an Augustinian priest, Manila, 1901, page 71:—“At that period the Filipinos, loving order, having been deceived of the emancipation promise, changed by the Katipúnan into crimes and attacks on the municipality of the pueblos, discontentbroke out in all parts, and, although latent in some provinces, in that of Tarlac was materialized in an ex-sergeant of the late Spanish civil guard. A valorous and determined man, he lifted up his flag against that of Aguinaldo. One hundred rifles were sufficient to terrorize the inhabitants of said province, crushing the enthusiastic members of the revolutionary party.... Having taken possession of four towns, Pecheche would have been everywhere successful if ambition and pride had not directed his footsteps. In January, 1899, the Aguinaldista commander of Tarlac province, afraid that his whole province would espouse the cause of the sergeant, attempted by every means in his power to interrupt his career, not hesitating to avail himself of crime to destroy the influence of Pecheche with the many people who had been incensed by the Katipúnan and had in turn become firm partisans of the Guards of Honour.“The Ilocano Tranquilino Pagarigan, local presidente at that time of Camiling, served as an admirable instrument for this purpose.... Pecheche was invited to a solemn festivity organized by Tranquilino, who pretended to recognize him as his chief, and rendering himself a vassal by taking an oath to his flag. He accepted the invitation, and after the mass which was celebrated went to a meal at the convent, where, after the meal was over, the members of the K.K.K. surrounded Pecheche and 10 of his officers and killed them with bolos or tied them and threw them out of the windows and down the staircase. Some priests were held captive in the building where this took place and were informed of what had taken place immediately afterwards.”This extract shows how easy it then was for any man of determination to acquire a following, especially if he could dispose of a few rifles. It also gives an excellent idea of the methods employed by the Insurgents in dealing with those who opposed their rule.General Fred D. Grant once told me, with much amusement, of an interesting experience during a fight on Mt. Arayat in Pampanga. His men took a trench and captured some of its occupants. Several of these were impressed as guides and required to show the attacking forces the locations of other trenches. At first they served unwillingly, but presently became enthusiasticand rushed the works of their quondam fellow-soldiers in the van of the American attack. Finally they begged for guns. Grant added that he could start from Bacolor for San Fernando any morning with a supply of rifles and pick up volunteers enough to capture the place, and that on the return trip he could get enough more to attack Bacolor!

Tarlac

While the failure of Messrs. Wilcox and Sargent to learn of the relations between the Tagalogs of Macabebe and their neighbours, or of the fact that people were being publicly tortured in Pampanga, is perhaps not to be wondered at under the circumstances, it is hard to see how they could have failed to hear something of the seriously disturbed conditions in Tarlac if they so much as got off the train there.On August 24 the commissioner in charge of elections in that province asked for troops to protect him, in holding them in the town of Urdaneta, against a party of two thousand men of the place, who were going to prevent them.On September 22 the secretary of the interior ordered that the requirements of the decree of June 18, establishing municipal governments, should be strictly complied with, as in many of the towns “the inhabitants continue to follow the ancient methods by which the friars exploited us at their pleasure and which showed their great contempt for the law.”16Bilibid Prison HospitalBilibid Prison HospitalThe Philippine Government has been charged with the neglect of prisoners. The truth is that it has made the prisons of the Philippines the most sanitary structures of their kind in the tropics, and gives its sick prisoners the best of care.The following letter to Aguinaldo, from Juan Nepomuceno, Representative from Tarlac, speaks for itself as to conditions in that province on December 27, 1898, shortly after the American travellers passed through it on their return:—“I regret exceedingly being compelled to report to you that since Sunday the 25th instant scandalous acts have been going on in the Province of Tarlac, which I represent. On the night of the Sunday mentioned the entire family of the Local Chief of Bamban was murdered, and his house and warehouse were burned. Also the Tax Commissioner and the Secretary, Fabian Ignacio, have been murdered. Last night Señor Jacinto Vega was kidnapped at the town of Gerona; and seven travellers were murdered at O’Donnel, which town was pillaged, as well as the barrio of Matayumtayum of the town of La Paz. On that day various suspicious parties were seen in the town of Pañique and in the same barrio, according to reliable reports which I have just received.“All this general demoralization of the province, according to the information which I have obtained, is due to the fact that the province is dissatisfied with the Provincial Chief, Señor Alfonso Ramos, and with Major Manuel de León; for this is substantiated by the fact that all the events described occurred since last Sunday, when Señor Alfonso Ramos returned, to take charge of the Office of Provincial President, after having been detained for several days in this town. Wherefore, I believe that in order to restore tranquillity in the province, consideration be given to various documents that have been presented to the Government and to the standing Committee of Justice; and that there be removed from office Señor Alfonso Ramos, as well as said Señor Manuel de León, who has no prestige whatever in this province. Moreover on the day when fifty-four soldiers of the command deserted, he himself left for San Fernando, Pampanga.”17On November 30, 1898, General Macabulos sent Aguinaldo a telegram18from which it evidently appearsthat there was an armed uprising in Tarlac which he was endeavouring to quell and that he hoped for early success. Apparently, however, his efforts to secure tranquillity were not entirely successful, for on December 18 he telegraphed Aguinaldo as follows:—“In a telegram dated to-day Lieut. Paraso, commanding a detachment at Camilin, informs me that last night his detachment was attacked by Tulisanes (robbers). The fire lasted four hours without any casualties among our men. This afternoon received another from the captain commanding said detachment, informing me of the same, and that nothing new has occurred. The people of the town await with anxiety the result of the charges they have made, especially against the local president and the justice of the peace, the original of which I sent to your high authority.”19Obviously the police machinery was not working quite smoothly when a detachment of Insurgent troops could be kept under fire for four hours by a robber band, and perhaps the attacking party were not all “robbers.” Soldiers do not ordinarily carry much to steal.We obtain some further information from the following telegram of December 27, 1898, sent by the secretary of the interior to the President of the Revolutionary Government:—“Most urgent. According to reports no excitement except in Bangbang, Tarlac, which at 12 A.M., 25th, was attacked by Tulisanes [bandits or robbers,—D.C.W.]. The local presidente with his patrols arrested six of them. On continuing the pursuit he met in Talacon a party too large to attack. At 7 A.M. of the 26th the town was again attacked by criminals, who killed the tax collector, and others who burnt some houses, among them that of the local presidente, and his stables, in which he lost two horses. I report this for your information.”20Evidently tax collectors were not popular in Tarlac.Still further light is shed on the situation by a telegram from the secretary of the interior to Aguinaldo, dated December 28, 1898:—“According to my information the excitement in Tarlac increases. I do not think that the people of the province would have committed such barbarities by themselves. For this reason the silence of General Macabulos is suspicious; to speak frankly, it encourages the rebels. Some seven hundred of them, with one hundred and fifty rifles, entered Pañique, seized the arms of the police, the town funds, and attacked the houses of the people. I report this for your information. All necessary measures will be taken.”21Note also the following from the secretary of the interior, under date of December 27, 1898, to Aguinaldo:—“I have just learned that not only in Bangbang, but also in Gerona, Onell, and other places in Tarlac, men have been assaulted by numerous Tulisanes, armed with rifles and bolos, who are killing and capturing the inhabitants and attacking travellers, robbing them of everything they have. The President should declare at once that that province is in state of siege, applying martial law to the criminals. That—(remainder missing).”22The secretary of agriculture took a more cheerful view of the situation. Under date of December 28 he telegraphed Aguinaldo as follows:—“The events in Bangbang, Tarlac Province, according to a witness here worthy of credit, have arisen from an attempt to procure vengeance on the local presidente, and robbery of Chinese shops. Hence they are without political importance. The tax collector killed, and a countryman servant of the local presidente wounded. They burnt two houses of the local presidente, a stable, and a warehouse for sugar-cane.”23Obviously the robbery of Chinese shops and the killing of a few individuals was at first considered by the secretary of agriculture to be without political importance. Evidentlyhe changed his mind, however, for on the same day, December 28, 1898, he telegraphed Aguinaldo as follows:—“I think it necessary to send Aglipay24to quiet Tarlac. Send for him. If you desire, I will go to Tarlac to investigate the causes of the disorders, in order to find a remedy for them.”25At this stage of events Aguinaldo was summoned to Malolos by a telegram from Mabini under date of December 29, which reads as follows:—“Most urgent. You must come here immediately. Trías is sick. We can come to no decision in regard to the Tarlac matter. Cannot constitute a government without you.”26The measures which were actually taken are set forth in another telegram of the same date from the secretaries of war and interior to Aguinaldo, which reads as follows:—“We have sent civil and military commissioners to Tarlac; among them the Director of War and persons of much moral influence, in order to stifle the disturbances. The necessary instructions have been given them and full powers for the purpose, and as far as possible to satisfy the people. Have also sent there six companies of soldiers with explicit instructions to their commander to guard only the towns, and make the people return to a peaceful life, using a policy of attraction for the purpose.”27Let us hope that the commander was able to attract the people with his six companies of soldiers, and make them return to a peaceful life.Still further light is thrown on the situation in Tarlac by the following extract from “Episodios de la Revolucion Filipina” by Padre Joaquin D. Duran, an Augustinian priest, Manila, 1901, page 71:—“At that period the Filipinos, loving order, having been deceived of the emancipation promise, changed by the Katipúnan into crimes and attacks on the municipality of the pueblos, discontentbroke out in all parts, and, although latent in some provinces, in that of Tarlac was materialized in an ex-sergeant of the late Spanish civil guard. A valorous and determined man, he lifted up his flag against that of Aguinaldo. One hundred rifles were sufficient to terrorize the inhabitants of said province, crushing the enthusiastic members of the revolutionary party.... Having taken possession of four towns, Pecheche would have been everywhere successful if ambition and pride had not directed his footsteps. In January, 1899, the Aguinaldista commander of Tarlac province, afraid that his whole province would espouse the cause of the sergeant, attempted by every means in his power to interrupt his career, not hesitating to avail himself of crime to destroy the influence of Pecheche with the many people who had been incensed by the Katipúnan and had in turn become firm partisans of the Guards of Honour.“The Ilocano Tranquilino Pagarigan, local presidente at that time of Camiling, served as an admirable instrument for this purpose.... Pecheche was invited to a solemn festivity organized by Tranquilino, who pretended to recognize him as his chief, and rendering himself a vassal by taking an oath to his flag. He accepted the invitation, and after the mass which was celebrated went to a meal at the convent, where, after the meal was over, the members of the K.K.K. surrounded Pecheche and 10 of his officers and killed them with bolos or tied them and threw them out of the windows and down the staircase. Some priests were held captive in the building where this took place and were informed of what had taken place immediately afterwards.”This extract shows how easy it then was for any man of determination to acquire a following, especially if he could dispose of a few rifles. It also gives an excellent idea of the methods employed by the Insurgents in dealing with those who opposed their rule.General Fred D. Grant once told me, with much amusement, of an interesting experience during a fight on Mt. Arayat in Pampanga. His men took a trench and captured some of its occupants. Several of these were impressed as guides and required to show the attacking forces the locations of other trenches. At first they served unwillingly, but presently became enthusiasticand rushed the works of their quondam fellow-soldiers in the van of the American attack. Finally they begged for guns. Grant added that he could start from Bacolor for San Fernando any morning with a supply of rifles and pick up volunteers enough to capture the place, and that on the return trip he could get enough more to attack Bacolor!

On August 24 the commissioner in charge of elections in that province asked for troops to protect him, in holding them in the town of Urdaneta, against a party of two thousand men of the place, who were going to prevent them.

On September 22 the secretary of the interior ordered that the requirements of the decree of June 18, establishing municipal governments, should be strictly complied with, as in many of the towns “the inhabitants continue to follow the ancient methods by which the friars exploited us at their pleasure and which showed their great contempt for the law.”16

Bilibid Prison HospitalBilibid Prison HospitalThe Philippine Government has been charged with the neglect of prisoners. The truth is that it has made the prisons of the Philippines the most sanitary structures of their kind in the tropics, and gives its sick prisoners the best of care.

Bilibid Prison Hospital

The Philippine Government has been charged with the neglect of prisoners. The truth is that it has made the prisons of the Philippines the most sanitary structures of their kind in the tropics, and gives its sick prisoners the best of care.

The following letter to Aguinaldo, from Juan Nepomuceno, Representative from Tarlac, speaks for itself as to conditions in that province on December 27, 1898, shortly after the American travellers passed through it on their return:—

“I regret exceedingly being compelled to report to you that since Sunday the 25th instant scandalous acts have been going on in the Province of Tarlac, which I represent. On the night of the Sunday mentioned the entire family of the Local Chief of Bamban was murdered, and his house and warehouse were burned. Also the Tax Commissioner and the Secretary, Fabian Ignacio, have been murdered. Last night Señor Jacinto Vega was kidnapped at the town of Gerona; and seven travellers were murdered at O’Donnel, which town was pillaged, as well as the barrio of Matayumtayum of the town of La Paz. On that day various suspicious parties were seen in the town of Pañique and in the same barrio, according to reliable reports which I have just received.“All this general demoralization of the province, according to the information which I have obtained, is due to the fact that the province is dissatisfied with the Provincial Chief, Señor Alfonso Ramos, and with Major Manuel de León; for this is substantiated by the fact that all the events described occurred since last Sunday, when Señor Alfonso Ramos returned, to take charge of the Office of Provincial President, after having been detained for several days in this town. Wherefore, I believe that in order to restore tranquillity in the province, consideration be given to various documents that have been presented to the Government and to the standing Committee of Justice; and that there be removed from office Señor Alfonso Ramos, as well as said Señor Manuel de León, who has no prestige whatever in this province. Moreover on the day when fifty-four soldiers of the command deserted, he himself left for San Fernando, Pampanga.”17

“All this general demoralization of the province, according to the information which I have obtained, is due to the fact that the province is dissatisfied with the Provincial Chief, Señor Alfonso Ramos, and with Major Manuel de León; for this is substantiated by the fact that all the events described occurred since last Sunday, when Señor Alfonso Ramos returned, to take charge of the Office of Provincial President, after having been detained for several days in this town. Wherefore, I believe that in order to restore tranquillity in the province, consideration be given to various documents that have been presented to the Government and to the standing Committee of Justice; and that there be removed from office Señor Alfonso Ramos, as well as said Señor Manuel de León, who has no prestige whatever in this province. Moreover on the day when fifty-four soldiers of the command deserted, he himself left for San Fernando, Pampanga.”17

On November 30, 1898, General Macabulos sent Aguinaldo a telegram18from which it evidently appearsthat there was an armed uprising in Tarlac which he was endeavouring to quell and that he hoped for early success. Apparently, however, his efforts to secure tranquillity were not entirely successful, for on December 18 he telegraphed Aguinaldo as follows:—

“In a telegram dated to-day Lieut. Paraso, commanding a detachment at Camilin, informs me that last night his detachment was attacked by Tulisanes (robbers). The fire lasted four hours without any casualties among our men. This afternoon received another from the captain commanding said detachment, informing me of the same, and that nothing new has occurred. The people of the town await with anxiety the result of the charges they have made, especially against the local president and the justice of the peace, the original of which I sent to your high authority.”19

Obviously the police machinery was not working quite smoothly when a detachment of Insurgent troops could be kept under fire for four hours by a robber band, and perhaps the attacking party were not all “robbers.” Soldiers do not ordinarily carry much to steal.

We obtain some further information from the following telegram of December 27, 1898, sent by the secretary of the interior to the President of the Revolutionary Government:—

“Most urgent. According to reports no excitement except in Bangbang, Tarlac, which at 12 A.M., 25th, was attacked by Tulisanes [bandits or robbers,—D.C.W.]. The local presidente with his patrols arrested six of them. On continuing the pursuit he met in Talacon a party too large to attack. At 7 A.M. of the 26th the town was again attacked by criminals, who killed the tax collector, and others who burnt some houses, among them that of the local presidente, and his stables, in which he lost two horses. I report this for your information.”20

Evidently tax collectors were not popular in Tarlac.

Still further light is shed on the situation by a telegram from the secretary of the interior to Aguinaldo, dated December 28, 1898:—

“According to my information the excitement in Tarlac increases. I do not think that the people of the province would have committed such barbarities by themselves. For this reason the silence of General Macabulos is suspicious; to speak frankly, it encourages the rebels. Some seven hundred of them, with one hundred and fifty rifles, entered Pañique, seized the arms of the police, the town funds, and attacked the houses of the people. I report this for your information. All necessary measures will be taken.”21

Note also the following from the secretary of the interior, under date of December 27, 1898, to Aguinaldo:—

“I have just learned that not only in Bangbang, but also in Gerona, Onell, and other places in Tarlac, men have been assaulted by numerous Tulisanes, armed with rifles and bolos, who are killing and capturing the inhabitants and attacking travellers, robbing them of everything they have. The President should declare at once that that province is in state of siege, applying martial law to the criminals. That—(remainder missing).”22

The secretary of agriculture took a more cheerful view of the situation. Under date of December 28 he telegraphed Aguinaldo as follows:—

“The events in Bangbang, Tarlac Province, according to a witness here worthy of credit, have arisen from an attempt to procure vengeance on the local presidente, and robbery of Chinese shops. Hence they are without political importance. The tax collector killed, and a countryman servant of the local presidente wounded. They burnt two houses of the local presidente, a stable, and a warehouse for sugar-cane.”23

Obviously the robbery of Chinese shops and the killing of a few individuals was at first considered by the secretary of agriculture to be without political importance. Evidentlyhe changed his mind, however, for on the same day, December 28, 1898, he telegraphed Aguinaldo as follows:—

“I think it necessary to send Aglipay24to quiet Tarlac. Send for him. If you desire, I will go to Tarlac to investigate the causes of the disorders, in order to find a remedy for them.”25

At this stage of events Aguinaldo was summoned to Malolos by a telegram from Mabini under date of December 29, which reads as follows:—

“Most urgent. You must come here immediately. Trías is sick. We can come to no decision in regard to the Tarlac matter. Cannot constitute a government without you.”26

The measures which were actually taken are set forth in another telegram of the same date from the secretaries of war and interior to Aguinaldo, which reads as follows:—

“We have sent civil and military commissioners to Tarlac; among them the Director of War and persons of much moral influence, in order to stifle the disturbances. The necessary instructions have been given them and full powers for the purpose, and as far as possible to satisfy the people. Have also sent there six companies of soldiers with explicit instructions to their commander to guard only the towns, and make the people return to a peaceful life, using a policy of attraction for the purpose.”27

Let us hope that the commander was able to attract the people with his six companies of soldiers, and make them return to a peaceful life.

Still further light is thrown on the situation in Tarlac by the following extract from “Episodios de la Revolucion Filipina” by Padre Joaquin D. Duran, an Augustinian priest, Manila, 1901, page 71:—

“At that period the Filipinos, loving order, having been deceived of the emancipation promise, changed by the Katipúnan into crimes and attacks on the municipality of the pueblos, discontentbroke out in all parts, and, although latent in some provinces, in that of Tarlac was materialized in an ex-sergeant of the late Spanish civil guard. A valorous and determined man, he lifted up his flag against that of Aguinaldo. One hundred rifles were sufficient to terrorize the inhabitants of said province, crushing the enthusiastic members of the revolutionary party.... Having taken possession of four towns, Pecheche would have been everywhere successful if ambition and pride had not directed his footsteps. In January, 1899, the Aguinaldista commander of Tarlac province, afraid that his whole province would espouse the cause of the sergeant, attempted by every means in his power to interrupt his career, not hesitating to avail himself of crime to destroy the influence of Pecheche with the many people who had been incensed by the Katipúnan and had in turn become firm partisans of the Guards of Honour.“The Ilocano Tranquilino Pagarigan, local presidente at that time of Camiling, served as an admirable instrument for this purpose.... Pecheche was invited to a solemn festivity organized by Tranquilino, who pretended to recognize him as his chief, and rendering himself a vassal by taking an oath to his flag. He accepted the invitation, and after the mass which was celebrated went to a meal at the convent, where, after the meal was over, the members of the K.K.K. surrounded Pecheche and 10 of his officers and killed them with bolos or tied them and threw them out of the windows and down the staircase. Some priests were held captive in the building where this took place and were informed of what had taken place immediately afterwards.”

“The Ilocano Tranquilino Pagarigan, local presidente at that time of Camiling, served as an admirable instrument for this purpose.... Pecheche was invited to a solemn festivity organized by Tranquilino, who pretended to recognize him as his chief, and rendering himself a vassal by taking an oath to his flag. He accepted the invitation, and after the mass which was celebrated went to a meal at the convent, where, after the meal was over, the members of the K.K.K. surrounded Pecheche and 10 of his officers and killed them with bolos or tied them and threw them out of the windows and down the staircase. Some priests were held captive in the building where this took place and were informed of what had taken place immediately afterwards.”

This extract shows how easy it then was for any man of determination to acquire a following, especially if he could dispose of a few rifles. It also gives an excellent idea of the methods employed by the Insurgents in dealing with those who opposed their rule.

General Fred D. Grant once told me, with much amusement, of an interesting experience during a fight on Mt. Arayat in Pampanga. His men took a trench and captured some of its occupants. Several of these were impressed as guides and required to show the attacking forces the locations of other trenches. At first they served unwillingly, but presently became enthusiasticand rushed the works of their quondam fellow-soldiers in the van of the American attack. Finally they begged for guns. Grant added that he could start from Bacolor for San Fernando any morning with a supply of rifles and pick up volunteers enough to capture the place, and that on the return trip he could get enough more to attack Bacolor!

PangasinánAnd now we come to Pangasinán, the most populous province of Luzon, and the third in the Philippines in number of inhabitants.“In July, 1898, the officer in Dagupan wrote to the commanding general of Tarlac Province that he would like to know whom he was required to obey, as there were so many officials of all ranks who gave him orders that it was impossible for him to know where he stood.”28In a letter dated August 17, 1898, to Aguinaldo, Benito Legarda complained that a bad impression had been produced by the news from Dagupan that when the Insurgents entered there, after many outrages committed upon the inmates of a girls’ school, every officer had carried off those who suited him.29What should we say if United States troops entered the town of Wellesley and raped numerous students at the college, the officers subsequently taking away with them the young ladies who happened to suit them? Yet things of this sort hardly caused a ripple in the country then under the Insurgent flag, and I learned of this particular incident by accident, although I have known Legarda for years.I quote the following general description of conditions in Pangasinán from a letter addressed by Cecilio Apóstol to General Aguinaldo on July 6, 1898:—“You probably know that in the Province of Pangasinán, of one of the towns in which your humble servant is a resident,the Spanish flag through our good fortune has not flown here for the past few months, since the few Spaniards who lived here have concentrated in Dagupan, a place not difficult of attack, as is said.“But this is what is going on in this Province” There exist here two Departmental Governments, one calling itself that of Northern Luzón and of which Don Vicente del Prado is the President, and the other which calls itself that of Northern and Central Luzón, presided over by Don Juliano Paraiso. Besides these two gentlemen, there are two governors in the province(!) one Civil Political Military, living in Lingayen, named Don Felipe J. Bartolomé, and another living in Real Guerrero, a town of Tayug, named Don Vicente Estrella. And in addition there are a large number of Administrators, Inspectors, Military Judges, Generals, ... they cannot be counted. It is a pandemonium of which even Christ, who permits it, cannot make anything. Indeed, the situation is insupportable. It reminds me of the schism in the middle ages when there were two Popes, both legitimate, neither true. Things are as clear as thick chocolate, as the Spaniards say. In my poor opinion, good administration is the mother-in-law of disorder, since disorder is chaos and chaos produces nothing but confusion, that is to say, death.“I have had an opportunity, through the kindness of a friend, to read the decree of that Government, dated June 18th, of the present year, and the accompanying ‘Instructions for the government of towns and provinces.’ Article 9 of the said decree says that the Superior Government will name a commissioner for each province with the special duty of establishing there the organization set forth in the decree. Very well so far: which of the so-called Presidents of Northern or of Northern and Central Luzón is the commissioner appointed by that government to establish the new organization in that province? Are military commanders named by you for Pangasinán? I would be very much surprised if either of them could show his credentials. Aside from these, the fact remains that in those instructions no mention is made of Presidents of Departments, there is a manifest contradiction in their jurisdictions, since while one calls himself president of a Departmental Government, of Northern Luzón, the other governs the Northern and Central portion of the Island, according to the seals which they use.“And, nevertheless, a person calling himself the General Administrator of the Treasury and the said Governor of theProvince, both of whom live in Tayug, came to this town when the Spaniards voluntarily abandoned it and gathered all the people of means, and drew up an act of election, a copy of which is attached. From it you will see how this organization violates the provisions of the decree of the 18th of June.“Another item: They got up a contract with the people of means of this town, and did the same thing in the other towns, in which contract they exact from us $1250 which they call contributions of war (see document No. 2 attached). Among the doubtful powers of these gentlemen is the one to exact these sums included?“Have they express orders from that Government?“Perhaps these blessed gentlemen—they are high flyers there is no doubt about that,—have struck the clever idea of calling themselves generals, governors, etc., in order to enjoy a certain prestige and to give a certain color of legality to their acts—this, although they don’t know an iota of what they are doing. But what I am sure of, and many other men also, is that there is no order, that here there is not a single person in authority whom to obey. This superfluity of rulers will finally lead to strained relations between them and the towns of this province will end by paying the piper.“But we poor ignorant creatures in so far as the republican form of government is concerned, in order to avoid worse evils took them at their word, obeyed them like automatons, hypnotized by the title of ‘Insurgents’ which they applied to themselves. But when I had an opportunity to read the said decree, doubts were forced upon me, I began to suspect—may God and they pardon me—that they were trying to impose upon us nicely, that, shielded by the motto, ‘have faith in and submit to the will of the country’ they came to these towns ‘for business.’“In order to dissipate this doubt, in order to do away with abuses, if there are abuses, I made up my mind to send you this account of the condition of things here. I flatter myself that when you learn of the lamentable situation of this province, you will soon deign to take steps to establish order, because thereon depends the tranquillity of Pangasinan and in the end a strict compliance with your superior orders.“There will be no limit to the thanks of the people of this province if their petitions secure favourable consideration and an immediate response from the high patriotism and honourable standpoint of the Supreme Dictator of the Philippines.”30Modern Contagious Disease Ward, San Lazaro HospitalModern Contagious Disease Ward, San Lazaro HospitalIt will be noted that the picture thus drawn by Señor Apóstol differs in certain important particulars from that painted in such engaging colours by Judge Blount.In September, 1898, the civil governor of Pangasinán had to have an escort of troops in passing through his province.31On November 20, 1898, the head of the town of San Manuel wrote the provincial governor that his people could no longer support the troops quartered on them, as the adherents of the Katipúnan had burned or stolen all of their property.32The sum total of Blount’s description of affairs in this, the most populous province of Luzón, is derived from the narrative of Messrs. Wilcox and Sargent and reads as follows:—“In Pangasinán ‘the people were all very respectful and polite and offered the hospitality of their homes.’”33Doubtless true, but as a summary of conditions perhaps a trifle sketchy.

Pangasinán

And now we come to Pangasinán, the most populous province of Luzon, and the third in the Philippines in number of inhabitants.“In July, 1898, the officer in Dagupan wrote to the commanding general of Tarlac Province that he would like to know whom he was required to obey, as there were so many officials of all ranks who gave him orders that it was impossible for him to know where he stood.”28In a letter dated August 17, 1898, to Aguinaldo, Benito Legarda complained that a bad impression had been produced by the news from Dagupan that when the Insurgents entered there, after many outrages committed upon the inmates of a girls’ school, every officer had carried off those who suited him.29What should we say if United States troops entered the town of Wellesley and raped numerous students at the college, the officers subsequently taking away with them the young ladies who happened to suit them? Yet things of this sort hardly caused a ripple in the country then under the Insurgent flag, and I learned of this particular incident by accident, although I have known Legarda for years.I quote the following general description of conditions in Pangasinán from a letter addressed by Cecilio Apóstol to General Aguinaldo on July 6, 1898:—“You probably know that in the Province of Pangasinán, of one of the towns in which your humble servant is a resident,the Spanish flag through our good fortune has not flown here for the past few months, since the few Spaniards who lived here have concentrated in Dagupan, a place not difficult of attack, as is said.“But this is what is going on in this Province” There exist here two Departmental Governments, one calling itself that of Northern Luzón and of which Don Vicente del Prado is the President, and the other which calls itself that of Northern and Central Luzón, presided over by Don Juliano Paraiso. Besides these two gentlemen, there are two governors in the province(!) one Civil Political Military, living in Lingayen, named Don Felipe J. Bartolomé, and another living in Real Guerrero, a town of Tayug, named Don Vicente Estrella. And in addition there are a large number of Administrators, Inspectors, Military Judges, Generals, ... they cannot be counted. It is a pandemonium of which even Christ, who permits it, cannot make anything. Indeed, the situation is insupportable. It reminds me of the schism in the middle ages when there were two Popes, both legitimate, neither true. Things are as clear as thick chocolate, as the Spaniards say. In my poor opinion, good administration is the mother-in-law of disorder, since disorder is chaos and chaos produces nothing but confusion, that is to say, death.“I have had an opportunity, through the kindness of a friend, to read the decree of that Government, dated June 18th, of the present year, and the accompanying ‘Instructions for the government of towns and provinces.’ Article 9 of the said decree says that the Superior Government will name a commissioner for each province with the special duty of establishing there the organization set forth in the decree. Very well so far: which of the so-called Presidents of Northern or of Northern and Central Luzón is the commissioner appointed by that government to establish the new organization in that province? Are military commanders named by you for Pangasinán? I would be very much surprised if either of them could show his credentials. Aside from these, the fact remains that in those instructions no mention is made of Presidents of Departments, there is a manifest contradiction in their jurisdictions, since while one calls himself president of a Departmental Government, of Northern Luzón, the other governs the Northern and Central portion of the Island, according to the seals which they use.“And, nevertheless, a person calling himself the General Administrator of the Treasury and the said Governor of theProvince, both of whom live in Tayug, came to this town when the Spaniards voluntarily abandoned it and gathered all the people of means, and drew up an act of election, a copy of which is attached. From it you will see how this organization violates the provisions of the decree of the 18th of June.“Another item: They got up a contract with the people of means of this town, and did the same thing in the other towns, in which contract they exact from us $1250 which they call contributions of war (see document No. 2 attached). Among the doubtful powers of these gentlemen is the one to exact these sums included?“Have they express orders from that Government?“Perhaps these blessed gentlemen—they are high flyers there is no doubt about that,—have struck the clever idea of calling themselves generals, governors, etc., in order to enjoy a certain prestige and to give a certain color of legality to their acts—this, although they don’t know an iota of what they are doing. But what I am sure of, and many other men also, is that there is no order, that here there is not a single person in authority whom to obey. This superfluity of rulers will finally lead to strained relations between them and the towns of this province will end by paying the piper.“But we poor ignorant creatures in so far as the republican form of government is concerned, in order to avoid worse evils took them at their word, obeyed them like automatons, hypnotized by the title of ‘Insurgents’ which they applied to themselves. But when I had an opportunity to read the said decree, doubts were forced upon me, I began to suspect—may God and they pardon me—that they were trying to impose upon us nicely, that, shielded by the motto, ‘have faith in and submit to the will of the country’ they came to these towns ‘for business.’“In order to dissipate this doubt, in order to do away with abuses, if there are abuses, I made up my mind to send you this account of the condition of things here. I flatter myself that when you learn of the lamentable situation of this province, you will soon deign to take steps to establish order, because thereon depends the tranquillity of Pangasinan and in the end a strict compliance with your superior orders.“There will be no limit to the thanks of the people of this province if their petitions secure favourable consideration and an immediate response from the high patriotism and honourable standpoint of the Supreme Dictator of the Philippines.”30Modern Contagious Disease Ward, San Lazaro HospitalModern Contagious Disease Ward, San Lazaro HospitalIt will be noted that the picture thus drawn by Señor Apóstol differs in certain important particulars from that painted in such engaging colours by Judge Blount.In September, 1898, the civil governor of Pangasinán had to have an escort of troops in passing through his province.31On November 20, 1898, the head of the town of San Manuel wrote the provincial governor that his people could no longer support the troops quartered on them, as the adherents of the Katipúnan had burned or stolen all of their property.32The sum total of Blount’s description of affairs in this, the most populous province of Luzón, is derived from the narrative of Messrs. Wilcox and Sargent and reads as follows:—“In Pangasinán ‘the people were all very respectful and polite and offered the hospitality of their homes.’”33Doubtless true, but as a summary of conditions perhaps a trifle sketchy.

And now we come to Pangasinán, the most populous province of Luzon, and the third in the Philippines in number of inhabitants.

“In July, 1898, the officer in Dagupan wrote to the commanding general of Tarlac Province that he would like to know whom he was required to obey, as there were so many officials of all ranks who gave him orders that it was impossible for him to know where he stood.”28

In a letter dated August 17, 1898, to Aguinaldo, Benito Legarda complained that a bad impression had been produced by the news from Dagupan that when the Insurgents entered there, after many outrages committed upon the inmates of a girls’ school, every officer had carried off those who suited him.29

What should we say if United States troops entered the town of Wellesley and raped numerous students at the college, the officers subsequently taking away with them the young ladies who happened to suit them? Yet things of this sort hardly caused a ripple in the country then under the Insurgent flag, and I learned of this particular incident by accident, although I have known Legarda for years.

I quote the following general description of conditions in Pangasinán from a letter addressed by Cecilio Apóstol to General Aguinaldo on July 6, 1898:—

“You probably know that in the Province of Pangasinán, of one of the towns in which your humble servant is a resident,the Spanish flag through our good fortune has not flown here for the past few months, since the few Spaniards who lived here have concentrated in Dagupan, a place not difficult of attack, as is said.“But this is what is going on in this Province” There exist here two Departmental Governments, one calling itself that of Northern Luzón and of which Don Vicente del Prado is the President, and the other which calls itself that of Northern and Central Luzón, presided over by Don Juliano Paraiso. Besides these two gentlemen, there are two governors in the province(!) one Civil Political Military, living in Lingayen, named Don Felipe J. Bartolomé, and another living in Real Guerrero, a town of Tayug, named Don Vicente Estrella. And in addition there are a large number of Administrators, Inspectors, Military Judges, Generals, ... they cannot be counted. It is a pandemonium of which even Christ, who permits it, cannot make anything. Indeed, the situation is insupportable. It reminds me of the schism in the middle ages when there were two Popes, both legitimate, neither true. Things are as clear as thick chocolate, as the Spaniards say. In my poor opinion, good administration is the mother-in-law of disorder, since disorder is chaos and chaos produces nothing but confusion, that is to say, death.“I have had an opportunity, through the kindness of a friend, to read the decree of that Government, dated June 18th, of the present year, and the accompanying ‘Instructions for the government of towns and provinces.’ Article 9 of the said decree says that the Superior Government will name a commissioner for each province with the special duty of establishing there the organization set forth in the decree. Very well so far: which of the so-called Presidents of Northern or of Northern and Central Luzón is the commissioner appointed by that government to establish the new organization in that province? Are military commanders named by you for Pangasinán? I would be very much surprised if either of them could show his credentials. Aside from these, the fact remains that in those instructions no mention is made of Presidents of Departments, there is a manifest contradiction in their jurisdictions, since while one calls himself president of a Departmental Government, of Northern Luzón, the other governs the Northern and Central portion of the Island, according to the seals which they use.“And, nevertheless, a person calling himself the General Administrator of the Treasury and the said Governor of theProvince, both of whom live in Tayug, came to this town when the Spaniards voluntarily abandoned it and gathered all the people of means, and drew up an act of election, a copy of which is attached. From it you will see how this organization violates the provisions of the decree of the 18th of June.“Another item: They got up a contract with the people of means of this town, and did the same thing in the other towns, in which contract they exact from us $1250 which they call contributions of war (see document No. 2 attached). Among the doubtful powers of these gentlemen is the one to exact these sums included?“Have they express orders from that Government?“Perhaps these blessed gentlemen—they are high flyers there is no doubt about that,—have struck the clever idea of calling themselves generals, governors, etc., in order to enjoy a certain prestige and to give a certain color of legality to their acts—this, although they don’t know an iota of what they are doing. But what I am sure of, and many other men also, is that there is no order, that here there is not a single person in authority whom to obey. This superfluity of rulers will finally lead to strained relations between them and the towns of this province will end by paying the piper.“But we poor ignorant creatures in so far as the republican form of government is concerned, in order to avoid worse evils took them at their word, obeyed them like automatons, hypnotized by the title of ‘Insurgents’ which they applied to themselves. But when I had an opportunity to read the said decree, doubts were forced upon me, I began to suspect—may God and they pardon me—that they were trying to impose upon us nicely, that, shielded by the motto, ‘have faith in and submit to the will of the country’ they came to these towns ‘for business.’“In order to dissipate this doubt, in order to do away with abuses, if there are abuses, I made up my mind to send you this account of the condition of things here. I flatter myself that when you learn of the lamentable situation of this province, you will soon deign to take steps to establish order, because thereon depends the tranquillity of Pangasinan and in the end a strict compliance with your superior orders.“There will be no limit to the thanks of the people of this province if their petitions secure favourable consideration and an immediate response from the high patriotism and honourable standpoint of the Supreme Dictator of the Philippines.”30

“But this is what is going on in this Province” There exist here two Departmental Governments, one calling itself that of Northern Luzón and of which Don Vicente del Prado is the President, and the other which calls itself that of Northern and Central Luzón, presided over by Don Juliano Paraiso. Besides these two gentlemen, there are two governors in the province(!) one Civil Political Military, living in Lingayen, named Don Felipe J. Bartolomé, and another living in Real Guerrero, a town of Tayug, named Don Vicente Estrella. And in addition there are a large number of Administrators, Inspectors, Military Judges, Generals, ... they cannot be counted. It is a pandemonium of which even Christ, who permits it, cannot make anything. Indeed, the situation is insupportable. It reminds me of the schism in the middle ages when there were two Popes, both legitimate, neither true. Things are as clear as thick chocolate, as the Spaniards say. In my poor opinion, good administration is the mother-in-law of disorder, since disorder is chaos and chaos produces nothing but confusion, that is to say, death.

“I have had an opportunity, through the kindness of a friend, to read the decree of that Government, dated June 18th, of the present year, and the accompanying ‘Instructions for the government of towns and provinces.’ Article 9 of the said decree says that the Superior Government will name a commissioner for each province with the special duty of establishing there the organization set forth in the decree. Very well so far: which of the so-called Presidents of Northern or of Northern and Central Luzón is the commissioner appointed by that government to establish the new organization in that province? Are military commanders named by you for Pangasinán? I would be very much surprised if either of them could show his credentials. Aside from these, the fact remains that in those instructions no mention is made of Presidents of Departments, there is a manifest contradiction in their jurisdictions, since while one calls himself president of a Departmental Government, of Northern Luzón, the other governs the Northern and Central portion of the Island, according to the seals which they use.

“And, nevertheless, a person calling himself the General Administrator of the Treasury and the said Governor of theProvince, both of whom live in Tayug, came to this town when the Spaniards voluntarily abandoned it and gathered all the people of means, and drew up an act of election, a copy of which is attached. From it you will see how this organization violates the provisions of the decree of the 18th of June.

“Another item: They got up a contract with the people of means of this town, and did the same thing in the other towns, in which contract they exact from us $1250 which they call contributions of war (see document No. 2 attached). Among the doubtful powers of these gentlemen is the one to exact these sums included?

“Have they express orders from that Government?

“Perhaps these blessed gentlemen—they are high flyers there is no doubt about that,—have struck the clever idea of calling themselves generals, governors, etc., in order to enjoy a certain prestige and to give a certain color of legality to their acts—this, although they don’t know an iota of what they are doing. But what I am sure of, and many other men also, is that there is no order, that here there is not a single person in authority whom to obey. This superfluity of rulers will finally lead to strained relations between them and the towns of this province will end by paying the piper.

“But we poor ignorant creatures in so far as the republican form of government is concerned, in order to avoid worse evils took them at their word, obeyed them like automatons, hypnotized by the title of ‘Insurgents’ which they applied to themselves. But when I had an opportunity to read the said decree, doubts were forced upon me, I began to suspect—may God and they pardon me—that they were trying to impose upon us nicely, that, shielded by the motto, ‘have faith in and submit to the will of the country’ they came to these towns ‘for business.’

“In order to dissipate this doubt, in order to do away with abuses, if there are abuses, I made up my mind to send you this account of the condition of things here. I flatter myself that when you learn of the lamentable situation of this province, you will soon deign to take steps to establish order, because thereon depends the tranquillity of Pangasinan and in the end a strict compliance with your superior orders.

“There will be no limit to the thanks of the people of this province if their petitions secure favourable consideration and an immediate response from the high patriotism and honourable standpoint of the Supreme Dictator of the Philippines.”30

Modern Contagious Disease Ward, San Lazaro HospitalModern Contagious Disease Ward, San Lazaro Hospital

Modern Contagious Disease Ward, San Lazaro Hospital

It will be noted that the picture thus drawn by Señor Apóstol differs in certain important particulars from that painted in such engaging colours by Judge Blount.

In September, 1898, the civil governor of Pangasinán had to have an escort of troops in passing through his province.31

On November 20, 1898, the head of the town of San Manuel wrote the provincial governor that his people could no longer support the troops quartered on them, as the adherents of the Katipúnan had burned or stolen all of their property.32

The sum total of Blount’s description of affairs in this, the most populous province of Luzón, is derived from the narrative of Messrs. Wilcox and Sargent and reads as follows:—

“In Pangasinán ‘the people were all very respectful and polite and offered the hospitality of their homes.’”33

Doubtless true, but as a summary of conditions perhaps a trifle sketchy.

Nueva EcijaNueva Ecija was the next province visited by Wilcox and Sargent. They have failed to inform us that:—“In December, 1899, certain men charged with being members of this society [Guards of Honour] were interrogated in Nueva Ecija as to their purposes. One of those questioned said:—“‘That their purpose was one day, the date being unknown to the deponent, when the Ilocanos of Batac came, to rise up in arms and kill the Tagálos, both private individuals and public employees, excepting those who agreed to the former, for the reason that honours were granted only to the Tagálos, and but few to the Ilocanos.’”34Blount has assured us that the Filipinos were a unit at Aguinaldo’s back and were and are an united people, andhere are the Ilocanos of Nueva Ecija spoiling his theory by remembering that they are Ilocanos and proposing to kill whom? Not certain individual Filipinos, who might have offended them, but the Tagálogs!That there were other troubles in Nueva Ecija is shown by the following statement:—“On January 7, 1899, the commissioner of Aguinaldo’s treasury sent to collect contributions of war in Nueva Ecija Province reported that the company stationed in San Isidro had become guerillas under command of its officers and opposed his collections, stating that they were acting in compliance with orders from higher authority.”35And now, in following the route taken by our tourist friends, we reach Nueva Vizcaya and the Cagayan valley.

Nueva Ecija

Nueva Ecija was the next province visited by Wilcox and Sargent. They have failed to inform us that:—“In December, 1899, certain men charged with being members of this society [Guards of Honour] were interrogated in Nueva Ecija as to their purposes. One of those questioned said:—“‘That their purpose was one day, the date being unknown to the deponent, when the Ilocanos of Batac came, to rise up in arms and kill the Tagálos, both private individuals and public employees, excepting those who agreed to the former, for the reason that honours were granted only to the Tagálos, and but few to the Ilocanos.’”34Blount has assured us that the Filipinos were a unit at Aguinaldo’s back and were and are an united people, andhere are the Ilocanos of Nueva Ecija spoiling his theory by remembering that they are Ilocanos and proposing to kill whom? Not certain individual Filipinos, who might have offended them, but the Tagálogs!That there were other troubles in Nueva Ecija is shown by the following statement:—“On January 7, 1899, the commissioner of Aguinaldo’s treasury sent to collect contributions of war in Nueva Ecija Province reported that the company stationed in San Isidro had become guerillas under command of its officers and opposed his collections, stating that they were acting in compliance with orders from higher authority.”35And now, in following the route taken by our tourist friends, we reach Nueva Vizcaya and the Cagayan valley.

Nueva Ecija was the next province visited by Wilcox and Sargent. They have failed to inform us that:—

“In December, 1899, certain men charged with being members of this society [Guards of Honour] were interrogated in Nueva Ecija as to their purposes. One of those questioned said:—“‘That their purpose was one day, the date being unknown to the deponent, when the Ilocanos of Batac came, to rise up in arms and kill the Tagálos, both private individuals and public employees, excepting those who agreed to the former, for the reason that honours were granted only to the Tagálos, and but few to the Ilocanos.’”34

“In December, 1899, certain men charged with being members of this society [Guards of Honour] were interrogated in Nueva Ecija as to their purposes. One of those questioned said:—

“‘That their purpose was one day, the date being unknown to the deponent, when the Ilocanos of Batac came, to rise up in arms and kill the Tagálos, both private individuals and public employees, excepting those who agreed to the former, for the reason that honours were granted only to the Tagálos, and but few to the Ilocanos.’”34

Blount has assured us that the Filipinos were a unit at Aguinaldo’s back and were and are an united people, andhere are the Ilocanos of Nueva Ecija spoiling his theory by remembering that they are Ilocanos and proposing to kill whom? Not certain individual Filipinos, who might have offended them, but the Tagálogs!

That there were other troubles in Nueva Ecija is shown by the following statement:—

“On January 7, 1899, the commissioner of Aguinaldo’s treasury sent to collect contributions of war in Nueva Ecija Province reported that the company stationed in San Isidro had become guerillas under command of its officers and opposed his collections, stating that they were acting in compliance with orders from higher authority.”35

And now, in following the route taken by our tourist friends, we reach Nueva Vizcaya and the Cagayan valley.

1Blount, p. 98.2The constitution used was most certainly not patterned after our own. See p. 265.3Blount, p. 111.4“The light Messrs. Sargent and Wilcox throw on the then universal acknowledgment of the authority of the Aguinaldo government and the perfect tranquillity and public order maintained under it, in the Cagayan valley.”—Blount, pp. 114–115.5“The country in fact, as Aguinaldo always claimed in his proclamations of that period seeking recognition of his government by the Powers, in a state of profound peace and tranquillity—free from brigandage and the like.”—Blount, p. 115.6P.I.R., 958. 11.7P.I.R., 849.8Blount, p. 108.9Ibid., p. 109.10“With a view to showing every one and especially foreigners travelling through the territory of the Republic, that we are not opposed to a good such as a refined and civilized people should have, the fronts of buildings should be whitewashed, streets should be cleaned and fences repaired.”—P.I.R., 292. 3.11“It would be a great satisfaction to me to aid you with all my strength; and the only thing that I see to object to is that the Commanders and Generals in this province are getting pretty abusive toward our brethren and allow themselves to be bribed by the Tagálog merchants so as to allow them to enter Manila with their goods, which is of great assistance to our enemies.“Concerning the contributions which I have collected from the Chinamen, it amounts to more than ₱2,000 here in Tambobong, Meycauayan and Polo alone; and those from the other pueblos have not yet come to see me. Furthermore, I would like an order from you prohibiting the outrages that are being committed against such merchants as are not our enemies; and when the contributions from the Chinamen of all the pueblos shall have been completed, I wish to publish a proclamation forbidding any injury to the Chinamen and any interference with their small business enterprises; since this is a disgrace to our government and to your name; for the natives of hereabouts themselves are the people who are committing said abuses, and in hopes of putting a stop to them, I await your decision at the earliest possible moment concerning the proclamation referred to.”—P.I.R., 355. 11.12“Last night in the place known as Santo Cristo (Manila?) the store of J. Ricafort, a Chinaman, was entered by five soldiers of our army under an unknown commander supposed to be Colonel Paua. They tried to kidnap the wife of Ricafort. At the request of P. García they desisted upon payment of 20 pesos and the agreement that 100 pesos would be paid later. If this was not done they would return and hang them. To quiet these people I gave them a pass to assure their personal safety, and exacted at the same time a promise that they should not report the matter to the Americans. Pauline García is now at Pedro Macati.”—P.I.R., 1187.4.13P.I.R., 223.14“Early in the war we had availed ourselves of a certain tribe, or clan, known as the Maccabebes, who look nowise different from all other Filipinos, but who had, under the Spanish government, by reason of long-standing feuds with their more rebellious neighbours, come to be absolutely loyal to the Spanish authorities. When we came they had transferred that loyalty to us, and had now become a recognized and valuable part of our military force.”—Blount, pp. 333–334.15“On July 28, 1898, the head of the province of Pampanga wrote that the punishment of beating people in the plaza and tying them up so that they would be exposed to the full rays of the sun should be stopped. He complained that these methods had been carried so far that even people of good social position had been so punished. It was especially undesirable to employ such punishments, as the people of other nations weeing them would not believe that the reign of liberty, equality, and fraternity had begun in the Philippines.”—P.I.R., 196.3.16Taylor, 47 AJ.17P.I.R., 944.18“I have the honour to inform you that I have been in this town since yesterday afternoon issuing, in a proclamation, conciliatory orders to the populace that the people comprised in the uprising must present themselves and express aversion and repudiation of it, promising them consideration and pardon as long as they lay aside arms. Incompliance with and following the earlier published proclamation, they presented two guns and innumerable bolos. I hope soon for tranquillity among the people there through these efforts. I ask dispense with assembly of the Junta.Camilin, November 30, 1898.”—P.I.R., 849.19P.I.R., 849.20Ibid.21P.I.R. 849.22Ibid.23Ibid.24Gregorio Aglipay, an Ilocano Catholic priest who became an active Insurgent leader. Later he abandoned the Catholic faith and set up a new church which gained many adherents in the Philippines.25P.I.R., 849.26Ibid.27Ibid.28P.I.R., 1231. 2.29Taylor, 62 AJ.30P.I.R., 77.31P.I.R., 47.7.32Ibid., 951.3.33Blount, p. 109.34P.I.R., 1006.35P.I.R., 870. 4.

1Blount, p. 98.

2The constitution used was most certainly not patterned after our own. See p. 265.

3Blount, p. 111.

4“The light Messrs. Sargent and Wilcox throw on the then universal acknowledgment of the authority of the Aguinaldo government and the perfect tranquillity and public order maintained under it, in the Cagayan valley.”—Blount, pp. 114–115.

5“The country in fact, as Aguinaldo always claimed in his proclamations of that period seeking recognition of his government by the Powers, in a state of profound peace and tranquillity—free from brigandage and the like.”—Blount, p. 115.

6P.I.R., 958. 11.

7P.I.R., 849.

8Blount, p. 108.

9Ibid., p. 109.

10“With a view to showing every one and especially foreigners travelling through the territory of the Republic, that we are not opposed to a good such as a refined and civilized people should have, the fronts of buildings should be whitewashed, streets should be cleaned and fences repaired.”—P.I.R., 292. 3.

11“It would be a great satisfaction to me to aid you with all my strength; and the only thing that I see to object to is that the Commanders and Generals in this province are getting pretty abusive toward our brethren and allow themselves to be bribed by the Tagálog merchants so as to allow them to enter Manila with their goods, which is of great assistance to our enemies.

“Concerning the contributions which I have collected from the Chinamen, it amounts to more than ₱2,000 here in Tambobong, Meycauayan and Polo alone; and those from the other pueblos have not yet come to see me. Furthermore, I would like an order from you prohibiting the outrages that are being committed against such merchants as are not our enemies; and when the contributions from the Chinamen of all the pueblos shall have been completed, I wish to publish a proclamation forbidding any injury to the Chinamen and any interference with their small business enterprises; since this is a disgrace to our government and to your name; for the natives of hereabouts themselves are the people who are committing said abuses, and in hopes of putting a stop to them, I await your decision at the earliest possible moment concerning the proclamation referred to.”—P.I.R., 355. 11.

12“Last night in the place known as Santo Cristo (Manila?) the store of J. Ricafort, a Chinaman, was entered by five soldiers of our army under an unknown commander supposed to be Colonel Paua. They tried to kidnap the wife of Ricafort. At the request of P. García they desisted upon payment of 20 pesos and the agreement that 100 pesos would be paid later. If this was not done they would return and hang them. To quiet these people I gave them a pass to assure their personal safety, and exacted at the same time a promise that they should not report the matter to the Americans. Pauline García is now at Pedro Macati.”—P.I.R., 1187.4.

13P.I.R., 223.

14“Early in the war we had availed ourselves of a certain tribe, or clan, known as the Maccabebes, who look nowise different from all other Filipinos, but who had, under the Spanish government, by reason of long-standing feuds with their more rebellious neighbours, come to be absolutely loyal to the Spanish authorities. When we came they had transferred that loyalty to us, and had now become a recognized and valuable part of our military force.”—Blount, pp. 333–334.

15“On July 28, 1898, the head of the province of Pampanga wrote that the punishment of beating people in the plaza and tying them up so that they would be exposed to the full rays of the sun should be stopped. He complained that these methods had been carried so far that even people of good social position had been so punished. It was especially undesirable to employ such punishments, as the people of other nations weeing them would not believe that the reign of liberty, equality, and fraternity had begun in the Philippines.”—P.I.R., 196.3.

16Taylor, 47 AJ.

17P.I.R., 944.

18“I have the honour to inform you that I have been in this town since yesterday afternoon issuing, in a proclamation, conciliatory orders to the populace that the people comprised in the uprising must present themselves and express aversion and repudiation of it, promising them consideration and pardon as long as they lay aside arms. Incompliance with and following the earlier published proclamation, they presented two guns and innumerable bolos. I hope soon for tranquillity among the people there through these efforts. I ask dispense with assembly of the Junta.Camilin, November 30, 1898.”—P.I.R., 849.

19P.I.R., 849.

20Ibid.

21P.I.R. 849.

22Ibid.

23Ibid.

24Gregorio Aglipay, an Ilocano Catholic priest who became an active Insurgent leader. Later he abandoned the Catholic faith and set up a new church which gained many adherents in the Philippines.

25P.I.R., 849.

26Ibid.

27Ibid.

28P.I.R., 1231. 2.

29Taylor, 62 AJ.

30P.I.R., 77.

31P.I.R., 47.7.

32Ibid., 951.3.

33Blount, p. 109.

34P.I.R., 1006.

35P.I.R., 870. 4.

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