It would have stultified us, had we signed it, as it involved
in effect the abandonment of the position we had so recently taken
and a radical change in the policy we had recommended. Mr. Schurman
told us that if we did not care to sign it, he would send it as an
expression of his personal opinion. Colonel Denby asked him if his
personal opinion differed from his official opinion, and received an
affirmative reply. We declined to approve the proposed cablegram,
whereupon he informed us that if his policy were adopted, he and
General Aguinaldo would settle things without assistance from us,
and that otherwise he would resign. He inquired whether we, too,
would send a cable, and we told him certainly not, unless further
information from us was requested. He sent his proposed message,
in somewhat modified form, and received a prompt reply instructing
him to submit it to the full commission and cable their views.
He did submit it to Colonel Denby and myself at a regularly called
commission meeting, argued that in doing this he had obeyed the
President's instructions, and vowed that he would not show it to
General Otis. I showed it to the General myself, allowing him to
believe that I did so with Mr. Schurman's approval, and thus avoided
serious trouble, as he had been personally advised from Washington
of the instructions to Mr.
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