Jasper County Democrat, Volume 1, Number 19, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 August 1898 — MANILA IS TAKEN [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

MANILA IS TAKEN

Dewey Bombards the City and Spaniards Surrender. AUGUSTI HAS FLED. American Troops Under Merritt Now Hold Philippine Capital. Consul General Wlldman at Hons Kong Cables the News of Manila's Fall— Spaniards Capitnlate Unconditionally—Spaiah Captain General Escapes to Hong Kong on a German Cruiser— Officers of the Kaiaer'a V eaeel Refuse to Explain Their Remarkable Action Hong Kong special: Manila has fallen. The city surrendered unconditionally to Admiral Dewey and Gen, Merritt Saturday. The American fleet and land batteries opened fire on Manila Saturday morning. The Spanish resistance was feeble and the Americans were soon in possession of the city. The surrender of Manila was demanded Friday. Notice was given that the bombardment would begin the next day. Captain General Augusti immediately fled, escaping on the German cruiser Kaiserin Augusta, which sailed before the bombardment was concluded. Admiral Dewey demanded the surrender of Manila in an hour. The Spaniards declined to surren-

der and Dewey began the bombardment and the Spaniards hoisted a white flag. . The Spanish consul at Hong Kong had’ not notified the Spanish authorities at Manila of the signing of the peace protocol. It is believed that the reason why the Spanish consul did not send the news of peace to Manila was to give the Spanish authorities there a chance to play for time by denying the authenticity of the news sent from here by the American consul by the steamer Australian. The surrender of Manila, coming as it does, furnishes a fitting conclusion of the drama of war. which began with the destruction of the Spanish fleet in Manila harbor on the Ist of May last. Like the battle of New Orleans, fought by Andrew Jackson on t-lre* 1 8th of Junnary. 1815, it came after the suspension of hostilities between the contending powers, but this does not invalidate the surrender. Dewey nnd Merritt simply anticipated the protocol, whibh provided for the occupation of the city by the Americans during peace negotiations. No formal turning over of Manila to their forces,is necessary now. Details of the taking of the city by American forces, so far as received, show that Admiral Dewey gave Gen. Augusti an hour in which to surrender at the time of the last deniand, made on Saturday. Gen. Augusti refused to comply. The bombardment, which began at 9:30 a. m., was continued for two hours, and then the Americans stormed the trenches, sweeping all before them.

Those within the Avails attempted no resistance. The First Colorado volunteers stormed the outer trenches and drove the Spaniards into the second line of defenses. Then the American troops swept on, driving all the Spaniards into the inner fortifications, where the Spanish commander, seeing that further resistance was useless, hoisted the white flag and surrendered. Tho Spaniards in the trenches probably numbered 3,000 men. The American attacking force numbered 10,000, and the Americans were better armed, better trained and in better condition. The foreign fleets watched the bombardment with 'acute interest? The American wnrships engaged .were the Olympia; Petrel, Raleigh, MeCulloeh, Boston, Monterey, Charleston and Baltimore, The Spanish trench extended around Manila' at a'distance bf from'two to font miles/from the walled city,- fornfing a circle ten mile* in circumference* and it was impossible, the Spaniards,say, to hold so long a line against the American attack.’ Admiral Dewtiy and Gen. Merritt, it is reported, had issued orders to spare all except the armed defenses -of the city and consequently the.town Is understood to have been but little dumaged. The Stars and Stripes were raised over the city at 5:40 o’clock in the afternoon. In the bay Admiral Dewey’s fleet thundered a national salute anjl the formal surrender of the Spaniards was completed. The surrender includes (5,500 men, 12,000 stands of arms and an itataense amount of ammunition. The Spaniards i\ere allowed the honors of war. We captured 7,000 prisoners, 12,000. rifles and ♦Unlimited ammunition. Gen. Merritt has assumed > command;' festering the civil laws.- Eight American!! were-kilted add fifty wounded; (The Spanish loss wgs much greyer. The ships were not struck.. • AGUIJtALDO HWBUKBD. '-•••. \ -*tt "■ :• v : . } General Anderson Deals Severely with •' WoiJl<l-Be Dictator. Gen. Andefson lids oeen forced to remind the flk-tatoß Emilio Aguifthldof of’ his true commission and the nature of- the rights the United States has won. Aguinaldo, once a humble ally, who begged Admiral Dewey for.passage to tiiuatih Isf and, is, im£’ -prqtid, fraitgiitfrand autocratic, and bujrnife v%jthi ambition .to. spmp’dny, rule at Manila, either as mill; tnry presdrfeitt -or 'flibthtor. 4 • -The*- hope 1 makes him jealous of the Ataericank? J i £

REDUCE THE ARMY. , t War Managers Decide to MOTter OhT Many Soldiers. The President has decided to- muster 40,000 volunteers out of service. He believes he will have all the soldiers he needs without them, and their discharge now, instead of a few months hence, will save several million dollars. The men who are to be sent home are to be selected from those who enlisted under the second call and those who have seen service. None of the men now in the Philippines and Porto Rico will be released, for if they were others would have to be sent to take their places. Later on a good many men will have to be sent to Cuba. Gen. Lee thinks about 40,000 will be needed. Fifteen or twenty thousand more men should be sent to Manila to provide against contingencies. But there are many thousands of volunteers at Jacksonville and other camps, and in a comparatively short time the regulars now at Montauk Point will have regained their health nnd will be ready to take the field in the Philippines, if necessary, or do garrison duty in Cnbn. The military advisers of the President have assured him that he will have troops enough to meet all contingencies even if he lets 40,* 000 go. ■

SICK LEFT TO DIE. Scenes of Horror on Fever-Freighted Transports. The transport Saguranca arrived at quarantine off New York with 300 officers and enlisted men of the army from Santiago who are emaciated and broken with fevers. The tale of the suffering of these men since they left Santiago seems almost incredible. They were shipped in transports from Cuba on sick leave with out any provision haying been made for medical attention. In that neglected con dition they made the trip to Tampa biiy and there they were detained eleven days, during which neither doctors nor medicine were sent to their relief. Several died aboard ship while being detained at quarantine off Egmont Ivey. When it seemed as if death would rid the whole of the transports of bothersome passengers news of the deplorable state of affairs reached Gen. Coppinger at Tampa. Hr immediately ordered that all the sick br put aboard the Seguranea and sent to New Y'ork. The placing of the sick aboard the Seguranea, which had been hastily bat fully supplied with proper food, dear water, medicines and doctors?, was in the nature of a rescue.

PERISH BY TUE HUNDREDS. Spaniards Die at Santiago Too Fast for the Cremation Force. At Santiago the bodies of the dead Spaniards continue, to be cremated. Over 700 have been burned so far. Monday afternoon seventy were burned. Over twp rails a dozen bodies were stretched" and-across them another dozen, ami about thirty corpses were stacked iif an immense funeral pile ten high. 'The pile was then saturated with kerosene arid the torch applied. Around the pile lay twen-ty-two coffins containing f-orpses in astute of decomposition. Altogether about seventy unburied and unconsuuied bodies were there, stench was terrible. These seventy corpses represent two days’ dead from the Spanish camp. The danger to the population front the stench, the presence of the buzzards, vultures and flies is incalculable. TO DISBAND '1 HE CUBANS. Americans Decide Fate of Garcia’s Army at Santiago. A secret meeting was held at the palace in Santiago between the commanding officers of the American arlhy aud the Cuban leaders. Gen. Garcia, it is said, was present. The information obtained is to the effect that it was resolved to disband the Cuban army and that the United States should pay the men off. This involves the expenditure of $15,000,000, but it is most imi>ortant to the prosperity of the island, whose wealth is entirely agricultural; nobody, planter or farmer,, daring to cultivate his land while insurgent bands are in the field raiding and burning. MASSACRE IN PORTO RICO. Spaniards Fall Upon Women and Children and Slay Them with Machetes. Six Porto Ricans, accompanied by a priest, arrived at Coamo from Siales, thirty miles northwest of that place. They had walked all the way across the mountains. They reported that Spanish soldiers, crazed by liquor, came from Maniti to dales Saturday. An improvised American flag had been raised on the plaza. The sight of it so enraged the Spaniards that they attacked with machetes all the men, women and children they could find. They killed or wounded about ninety i>ersons. REBELS ATTACK MERRITT. Reported that Agalnatdo Turned Against the ’Americans. It was reported in Hbng Kong that the United States troops at Manila had an encounter with the rebel forces under Aguinaldo’." 'The insurgents’,"‘tfjpofl ‘ whtmr restrictions had been placed by Maj. Gen. Merritt, nre said-to- have mutinied-at not’being permitted to have any share in the surrender of the city.’ They are said to have attacked the Americans in the , the trenches.

CAPTAIN GENERAL AUGUSTI. Spanish Governor of the Philippines.