OCR Text |
Show DEWEY HEARD FK03L REPORTS ISLAND OF PAN AY IN POSSESSION OF INSURGENTS. The Island of egros Has Declared lad e-pendenoe e-pendenoe and Desire. American Protectorate Pro-tectorate Hollo Still In Poi-sestlon Poi-sestlon of Spaniard. Washington, Nov. 19. News has been received at the navy department from Admiral Dewey touching the situation sit-uation in the Philippines. The admiral sent two of his warships, the Charleston Charles-ton and the Concord, some time ago to the southward from Manila, to ascertain ascer-tain whether there was truth in reports that insurgents had expended their activities in that direction. He has cabled the department as follows! "Charleston and Concord arrived today to-day from Iloilo. Glass reports that the entire island of Panay is in possession of insurgents except Iloilo, which is defended by 800 Spanish troops. All foreign citizens there beg for American protection. The island of Negros has declared independence and desires American protectorate." Glass is the commander of the Charleston. Char-leston. So far, nothing has been done by the administration towards curbing the insurgents in their operations, save verbal representations from the American Ameri-can commanders to Aguinaldo, in which it has been pointed out to him that it would be good policy, in view of the probability of the annexation of the islands by the United States, to pursue a course that would not be obnoxious to the United States. But the situation is now realized to be critical. So far as the Spaniards are concerned, perhaps per-haps they can be left to take care of themselves, but the foreign residents at Iloilo are differently regarded. The difficulty in the situation is that, with the best intentions to intervene to protect the Europeans and other foreigners and to save the city of Iloilo, the second in importance in the group, from loot, the United States forces appear ap-pear to be stopped under the rule of war from moving from their positions-Such positions-Such is the construction placed upon the clause in the protocol relating to a suspension of hostilities. The immediate immedi-ate effect of this state of affairs may be to hasten action in the Paris conference, con-ference, for it is only by the termination termina-tion of that tribunal that the United States can come to the relief of the beleaguered Spaniards in Iloilo and other points. |