General Nelson A. Miles.
670. Concluding Scenes of the War.—General Nelson A. Miles,[[302]] with a force of about seventeen thousand men, landed on the island of Porto Rico (July 28), as soon as it became known that his troops would not be needed at Santiago. The Porto Ricans offered very slight resistance, and before the middle of August the island was in the possession of the Americans. Manila, the capital city of the Philippine Islands, was also assaulted by the land and naval forces, and after a brief resistance surrendered unconditionally, on the 13th of August. In every engagement of the war, the American soldiers and sailors behaved with great gallantry. But the management of affairs by the War Department was, to say the least, unfortunate in many respects. There was great confusion in the matter of furnishing the troops with supplies, and the quality of the food provided was in some instances so bad that influential officers had to remonstrate against a condition of affairs that demoralized the soldiers and exposed them to disease. Even in camps situated within the United States, sickness and disorder were common; and so loud an outcry was raised against official mismanagement that the President appointed a commission to investigate the matter. The commission, in its report, was unexpectedly, and many thought unduly, favorable to the War Department.
CONSEQUENCES OF THE WAR.
671. The Treaty of Peace.—On the 26th of July, the Spanish government made overtures for peace. After various delays, a preliminary agreement, or protocol, was signed, August 12. President McKinley at once issued a proclamation, suspending hostilities. It was agreed: (1) that Spain should withdraw its troops from Cuba and renounce its authority over that island; (2) that it should cede the island of Porto Rico to the United States; (3) that it should transfer to the United States one of the Caroline Islands; and (4) that the future of the Philippine Islands should be determined by a joint commission of the two powers appointed to arrange the details of the treaty. According to the provisions of this protocol, the joint commission met in Paris, on the 1st of October, 1898, and, after long discussion of different points, signed the final treaty on the 10th of December, 1898. This was ratified by the United States on the 6th of February, and by Spain on the 17th of March, 1899. By the terms of the treaty, the United States assumed a protectorate over Cuba; came into complete possession of Porto Rico; received all right and title to the Philippine Islands, in consideration of twenty million dollars; and received the island of Guam in the Ladrones Islands.
672. The Annexation of Hawaii.—In the summer of 1898 it became apparent to the government that certain naval advantages would be derived from the annexation of Hawaii. The long passage from San Francisco to the Philippine Islands called for an intermediate station for coal and other naval stores. Accordingly, on the recommendation of the President and as a military measure, Congress acceded to the wishes of the Hawaiian government, and annexed the islands by means of a resolution, as had been done in the case of Texas.
673. Revolt in the Philippines.—Before the outbreak of the Spanish War, the inhabitants of the Philippines, like those of Cuba, had been in a chaotic state of discontent. Uprisings against the Spanish government had been frequent, but these had generally been put down with great severity. A struggle for independence had been going on just before the Spanish-American war broke out; but the leader, Aguinaldo, had given up the task, in consideration of a large sum of money, and had gone to Hong Kong. Imagining that American success would result in the freedom of the Philippines, he returned to Manila on the American fleet and coöperated, with his followers, in the operations against Manila. Soon after peace was assured between the United States and Spain, he raised the standard of independence, in consequence of disappointment at the transfer of the Philippines to the United States and of the terms used by President McKinley in a proclamation issued to the inhabitants of the islands. As might have been expected from the fact that the opposing lines of forces were stationed close to one another, hostilities were not long avoided. Aguinaldo’s extemporized government and authority were in the main limited to the island of Luzon, and his chief reliance was upon the single tribe of the Tagals. The natives were never able to resist successfully the advances of the American troops, but they had possession of a large number of towns and villages, and these had to be taken, often at the point of the bayonet. Hostilities were protracted by the rainy season, and by the fact that the Filipinos were divided into many inaccessible bands. No battle of any great importance was fought; but it was not until the spring of 1900 that the revolt dwindled into guerrilla warfare. A year later (March, 1901), Aguinaldo was captured through stratagems devised by General Frederick Funston. The Filipino chieftain then issued a manifesto, urging submission to American authority.
674. Pacification of the Philippines.—His advice was largely followed, and the Philippine Commission, under the presidency of Judge William H. Taft of Ohio, was soon able to report great progress in pacification. Many hundreds of American school teachers were sent to the islands, and American energy was at once shown in improving sanitary conditions and in exploiting natural resources. But spasmodic fighting has not ceased, and it is believed by many persons that the Filipinos are far from really pacified. This is probably more true of outlying islands like Samar, where a small detachment of troops was almost exterminated, than of Luzon, the center of administration. The authorities at Washington have expressed their determination to put an end to every form of barbarism existing in the Philippines, and, owing to charges of cruel conduct that have been brought against American officers and troops, have instituted courts-martial for the purpose of trying officers and soldiers charged with countenancing or inflicting unusual punishments, such as the mode of torture known as the “water cure.” It seems clear that although there has been among the American troops some of that demoralization which always shows itself when war is conducted in tropical countries and against weaker races, the great mass of the American forces in the Philippines have performed their duties satisfactorily. The exact status of the islands with regard to the United States is still unsettled, and it is not certain that permanent possession of them is desired by a majority of the American people.
675. Opposition to the War.—It should not be supposed that the course of the government in the Spanish War met with the approval of the entire people. There were not a few who more or less vigorously opposed the declaration of war in behalf of the Cuban sufferers, and the number was increased when it was seen that victory involved territorial enlargement and an increase of political responsibilities. The most active opposition had its center in Boston. The claim was made that the acquisition of new territory showed a tendency to imperialism that was not justified either by the United States Constitution or by the political principles or customs of the country. Attention was repeatedly called to the clause in the Declaration of Independence which declares that the basis of just government is the “consent of the governed.” It was further asserted that the new possessions would increase the tendencies to political corruption, and would exert an unwholesome influence on the government at home. In opposition to these views, the President, and apparently a large majority of the people, held that there was no more constitutional objection to the acquisition of insular territory than there had been to the acquisition of Louisiana, California, or Alaska. The advocates of the so-called “expansion policy,” furthermore, would not admit that added political responsibilities would increase a tendency to corrupt government, and they claimed that, in view of international tendencies, the country needed the newly acquired territory, in order to protect its interests in the far East.
676. Government of Newly Acquired Territories.—On the recommendation of the President, Congress provided territorial governments not only for Hawaii, Guam, and Porto Rico, but also for Alaska. These governments were framed with the intention of developing free institutions as rapidly as the intelligence and character of the inhabitants would admit. Cuba was temporarily put under the control of a military government, which was instituted in order to set the wheels of a competent local government in motion. The President proclaimed his purpose to turn over the government of the island to the Cubans as soon as order and a prospect of peace had been established.