The American Occupation of the Philippines 1898-1912. James H. Blount
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target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="#ulink_0d521c9c-b318-55c7-898a-16bb314b8733">13 It was on July 7th that Admiral Dewey captured 1300 armed Spanish prisoners, the garrison of Isla la Grande, off Olongapo, and turned them over to the forces of the Aguinaldo government because he had no way to keep them.14 Was not that taking that government a bit seriously? How wholly unauthorized by the facts was this of “not taking it seriously,” on the part of “The Liberator of the Filipinos,”15 the immortal victor of Manila Bay, who two months before had taught the nation the magnitude of its power for good, in a cause as righteous as the crusades of old, and more sensible!
But to return to General Anderson’s account in the North American Review of his call, with Admiral Dewey, on the insurgent chief: “He asked me at once whether the ‘United States of the North’ either had, or would recognize his government. I am not quite sure as to the form of the question, whether it was ‘had’ or ‘would’? In either form it was embarrassing.” General Anderson then tells of Aguinaldo’s returning his call: “A few days thereafter he made an official call, coming with cabinet, staff, and band. He asked if we, the North Americans, as he called us, intended to hold the Philippines as dependencies. I said I could not answer that, but that in 122 years we had established no colonies. He then made this remarkable statement: ‘I have studied attentively the Constitution of the United States, and I find in it no authority for colonies, and I have no fear.’ ” General Anderson adds: “It may seem that my answer was evasive, but I was at the time trying to contract with the Filipinos for horses, fuel, and forage.”
While this history must not lapse into an almanac, it may not be amiss to follow these early stages of this matter through a few more successive dates, because the history of that period was all indelibly branded into Filipino memory shortly afterward with the red-hot iron of war.
July 4th, General Anderson writes the Filipino candidate for Independence inviting him to “co-operate with us in military operations against the Spanish forces.”16 This was written not to arrange any plan of co-operation but in order to get room about Cavite as a military base without a row. In his North American Review article General Anderson says that on that same day, the Fourth of July, Aguinaldo was invited to witness a parade and review “in honor of our national holiday.” “He did not come,” says the article, “because he was not invited as President but as General Aguinaldo.” An odd situation, was it not? Here was a man claiming to be President of a newly established republic based on the principles set forth in our Declaration of Independence, which republic had just issued a like Declaration, and he was invited to come and hear our declaration read, and declined because we would not recognize his right to assert the same truths. On subsequent anniversaries of the day in the Philippines it was deemed wise simply to prohibit the reading of our Declaration before gatherings of the Filipino people. It saved discussion.
July 6th, General Anderson writes telling Aguinaldo that he is expecting more troops soon and therefore “I would like to have your excellency’s advice and co-operation.”17
July 9th, General Anderson writes the War Department that Aguinaldo tells him he has about 15,000 fighting men, 11,000 armed with guns, and some 4000 prisoners,18 and adds: “When we first landed he seemed very suspicious, and not at all friendly but I have now come to a better understanding with him and he is much more friendly and seems willing to co-operate.”
July 13th, we find Admiral Dewey also still in a co-operative mood. On that day he cables the Navy Department of the capture of the 1,300 prisoners on July 7th, mentioned above, which capture was made, it appears, because Aguinaldo complained to him that a German war-ship was interfering with his operations,19 the prisoners being at once turned over to Aguinaldo, as stated above.
July 18th, is the date of the letter to the War Department in which General Anderson states that the establishment of a provisional government by us will probably mean a conflict with the insurgents. This was equivalent to saying that they will probably be ready to fight whenever we assert the “absolute and supreme” authority that the President’s instructions had directed to be asserted by the army as soon as it should arrive in the Philippines. Yet in the fall of 1899, President McKinley said he “never dreamed” that Aguinaldo’s “little band” would oppose our rule to the extent of war against it. It would have been more accurate if the martyred Christian gentleman who used those words had said he “always hoped” they would not, instead of “never dreamed” they would. This letter of July 18th, informs the Department:
Aguinaldo has declared himself dictator and self-appointed president. He has declared martial law and promulgated a minute method of procedure under it.
July 19th, General Anderson sends Major (now Major-General) J. F. Bell, to Aguinaldo, and asks of him a number of favors, such as any soldier may properly ask of an ally, for example, permission to see his military maps, etc., and that Aguinaldo “place at his [Bell’s] disposal any information you may have on the above subjects, and also give him [Bell] a letter or pass addressed to your subordinates which will authorize them to furnish him any information they can * * * and to facilitate his passage along the lines, upon a reconnaissance around Manila, on which I propose to send him.”20 All of which Aguinaldo did.
Military training is very keen on honor. Talk about what the French call foi d’officier—the “word of an officer”! Did ever a letter from one soldier to another more completely commit the faith and honor of his government, to recognition of the existence of an alliance? “In 122 years we have established no colonies,” he had told Aguinaldo. “It looks like we are about to go into the colonizing business,” he had, in effect, said to Admiral Dewey, about the same time.
July 21st, General Anderson writes the Adjutant-General of the army as follows:
Since I last wrote, Aguinaldo has put in operation an elaborate system of military government. * * * It may seem strange that I have made no formal protest against his proclamation as dictator, his declaration of martial law, etc. I wrote such a protest but did not publish it at Admiral Dewey’s request.21
When he wrote this letter, General Anderson was evidently beginning to have some compunctions about the trouble he now saw ahead. He was a veteran of the Civil War, whose gallantry had then been proven on many a field against an enemy compared with whom these people would be a picnic. But things did not look to the grim old hero like there was going to be a square deal. So he put this in the letter:
I submit, with all deference, that we have heretofore underrated the natives. They are not ignorant savage tribes, but have a civilization of their own, and although insignificant in appearance are fierce fighters and for a tropical people they are industrious. A small detail of natives will do more work than a regiment of volunteers.
Of course, this slam at “volunteers” was a bit rough. But the battle-scarred veteran’s sense of fair play was getting on his nerves. He foresaw the coming conflict, and though he did not shirk it, he did not relish it. He understood the “game,” and it seemed to him the cards were stacked, to meet the necessity of demonstrating that forcible annexation, instead of being criminal aggression, was merely Trade Expansion, and that his government was right then irrevocably committing itself, without any knowledge of, or acquaintance with, the Filipinos, to the assumption that they were incapable of running a government of their own.
The next day, July 22d, General Anderson wrote Aguinaldo a letter advising him that he was without orders as yet concerning the question of recognizing his government. But that this letter