Show Ocnrn BY MAJ AT Refutes Statement That Utah Guns Were Captured AN ANTIEXPANSION LIE Document Purported to be Written by Aguinnldo Saying Guns of Utah Artillery Were Captured by Spaniards and Retaken and Returned Re-turned by Filipinos Branded as False by Grant Aguinaldo Never Aided Americans and Thought of Retaking Guns is Amusing The Springfield Republican recently published a paper entitled The True Version of the Philippine Revolution and the article was afterward referred to on the flour of the United Stales Senate as an authentic publication of Agulnaklu The paper Is of special Interest In-terest lo Utah because il charges among other things lhat the Spaniards during the attack on Manila captured 1 I six of tile guns uf lie Utah batteries the guns being later recaptured by the Filipinos and kindly returned to the batteries Aguinaldo is represented as the true friend and ally of the Americans Ameri-cans in Ibis paper and Is pictured as magnanimously giving the guns back lo the Americans against the wishes oC the Fllplno General Noricl who claimed thai the arms did not belong to the Americans since the Filipino troops captured them from the Spaniards Span-iards The statement which it may be said no one familiar with the facts believed be-lieved for an instant was referred by Secretary of War Ellhn Root to Gen F V Greene formerly commanding the Srcond brigade Second division of llio Eighth army corps and lo Gen Thomas M Anderson formerly commander com-mander of the Second division and at present commanding the Department of the Lakes The only artillery on the line at that tIme was the Utah light batteries Gen Anderson tvrQte to AdjlGen Burton of time National Guard of Utah lo In vesilgalc lie matter Gen Burton referred re-ferred the letter lo JMaiJ F A Grant and Gen Greene also wrote lo Maj Grant about it In reply lo Gen Andersons letter Maj Grant replIed In part as follows F I will say that the guns of mmcl thor battery were ever in any other hands than those of the Utah men unlll lie latter part of June 1S99 when they were turned over to apt Hobbs and Capt Randolph of tIm Third United States artillery II is very amusing lo any oiv familiar with Agulnaldos army to think of them retaking guns from any one This would look to me to be a huge Joke If It were not for the political earmarks that it bears This has probably been written by an antlexpanslonlst who Is anxious to make It appear that Agulnaldos troops assisted us In some way In the capture cit tlanlia which is absolutely untrue Replying to I Gen Greene Maj Grant wrote in part At the lime alluded to In the abovementioned above-mentioned paper about July 31 1SDS two guns of Youngs and two guns of my ballory were him only artillery used by Iho American troops and were by your order placed in the trenches before be-fore Manila and as they were always well supported by Infantry the statement state-ment that they viere captured Is as false as the heart of the one whoever he may be who Invented such a story fI am convinced that this Is a story hint originated in the mind of some polilieiaii who would be willing lo sell his or his countrys honor In order to injure Die present Administration and preJudlcM the minds of the American people agulnst It even though in wo doing do-ing Ihoy should injure the ollicers and men who took part livj lhc Spanish and Philippine war Having been on lie ground and thoroughly familiar with what Wiis tolncr on I nm certain Unit the Insurrection would have ended last May had It not been for the traitors In the United Stale who wcri > vlUlnp to uphold AguliraJdo even though they shed the last drop of American blood In time Philippines In conclusion I will say that the American arm lea before Manila as aflerwurd wore always successful We looked for Iroiible hourly wilh the insurgents in-surgents and I never considered them our allies |