Various writers and speakers who have not gone so far as
this have yet maintained that Aguinaldo and his associates established
a real, effective government throughout the archipelago during the
interim between his return and the outbreak of hostilities with the
United States.
In summarizing conditions on September 15, 1898, Judge Blount says:
[236]--
"Absolute master of all Luzon outside Manila at this time, with
complete machinery of government in each province for all matters of
justice, taxes, and police, an army of some 30,000 men at his beck, and
his whole people a unit at his back, Aguinaldo formally inaugurated his
permanent government--permanent as opposed to the previous provisional
government--with a Constitution, Congress, and Cabinet, patterned after
our own, [237] just as the South American republics had done before
him when they were freed from Spain, at Malolos, the new capital."
He refers to our utter failure to understand "what a wonderfully
complete 'going concern' Aguinaldo's government had become
throughout the Philippine Archipelago before the Treaty of Paris was
signed." [238]
He bases his claim as to the excellent state of public order in the
Insurgent territory at this time on a report of Paymaster W.
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