A veteran colonel of United
States cavalry who had just read Judge Blount's book was asked what
he thought of the claim therein made that the army should have done
the police and pacification work of the Philippines. His reply was:--
"How long would it take a regiment of Filipinos to catch an American
outlaw in the United States? Impossible!"
Another army officer said:--
"Catching Filipino outlaws with the Army is like catching a flea in
a twenty-acre field with a traction engine."
There is perhaps nothing so demoralizing to regular troops as
employment on police duty which requires them to work singly or in
small squads. Discipline speedily goes to the dogs and instruction
becomes impossible.
Successful prosecution of the work of chasing _ladrones_ in the
Philippines requires a thorough knowledge of local topography and
of local native dialects. Spanish is of use, but only in dealing
with educated Filipinos. A knowledge of the Filipino himself; of his
habits of thought; of his attitude toward the white man; and toward
the _illustrado_, or educated man, of his own race; ability to enter a
town and speedily to determine the relative importance of its leading
citizens, finally centring on the one man, always to be found, who
runs it, whether he holds political office or not, and also to enlist
the sympathy and cooeperation of its people; all of these things are
essential to the successful handling of brigandage in the Philippines,
whether such brigandage has, or lacks, political significance.
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