OCR Text |
Show j AGUINALDO PLOTTED TO TAKE LIFEOF GEN. OTIS I ; Documentary Evidence Showing Perfidy of Filipino Leader Found in Washington. back of the paper. The other name doee not appear in the signatures. He was probably some follower or intimate friend of Cruz. "It is to be noted that Gen. Otis' residence was in the ward of San Miguel. The signers of this paper were men who lived about it and knew the ground well: some of them may have servants In the house. The attack on i the American outposts did not occur until February 4, 1899." WASHINGTON. April 16 While examining ex-amining papers captured from Filipino ! insurgent agents, Capt. John M. Taylor of the Fourteenth infantry has dis covered a remarkable document, Indorsed In-dorsed on the back with a direction to kill Gen. Otis. That indorsement, Capt. Taylor insists, is In the handwriting hand-writing of Aguinaldo, the insurgent chief. The translation of the document was: I , "Our Honorable President: We,' the -J , signers, who subscribe to the declara- J ; Jion appended, by these presents pro- i test against the American proclama- : tlon. We recognize no authority but that of God and the authority of the Government, and we offer our lives and ' property for the independence of our country. ': ' "Manila-San Miguel, January 12. 1899. Felielano de Cruz." (Twenty-five signatures follow.) ; ..... On the back is written, in the handwriting hand-writing of Aguinaldo: -Lebereno Ko-tionko, Ko-tionko, Fellciano de Cruz, to kill Gen. Otis. Commissioned." Capt. Taylor called the attention of the Chief of .the Bureau of Insular Affairs Af-fairs to this document in a letter in ' - which he says: . "The not on the back Is in the handwriting of Aguinaldo, a handwriting handwrit-ing with which I am familiar and one of such peculiar mannerism that It ; cannot be mistaken by one who has !' seen much of it. I have a quantity of heliographlc tetters and note In my possession. The most cursory com-' com-' parlson between them and the hand- ; j writing of this note will show its iden tity. "On January 4, 1899, a proclamation ' was Issued by Gen. Otis in which he rtprlared the sovereignty of the United ! States over the Philippines. Many protests were drawn up in the Philippines Philip-pines against this. Most of them were drawn un by order of the insurgent government but this letter was probably prob-ably unsolicited evidence of the adhesion ad-hesion of some Katipunan lodsre, or one of the popular clubs In Manila or ganized by Sandico while In the pay of the United States Government; clubs whoee names covered their real purpose, pur-pose, the formation of groups ready at a given signal to attack the Americans Ameri-cans within the city. "Probably this paper was handed to Aguinaldo by a delegation of the signers. sign-ers. If this wa the case, the man who signs first, Fellciano de Cruz, was one of the dele?ates. "Aguinaldo probably talked with him f , in private, and as a result of the con- vereatlon he wrote this note on the |