nan, Tarlac, Pampanga
and Bulacan to Manila.

He says that these gentlemen found the authority of Aguinaldo's
government universally acknowledged, the country in a state of perfect
tranquillity and public order, [239] with profound peace and freedom
from brigandage and the like. [240]

Now if it be true that Aguinaldo established complete machinery of
government throughout all of Luzon outside of Manila for all matters
of justice, taxes and police, so that life and property were safe
and peace, tranquillity and justice assured, we may well dispense
with quibbling as to whether the proper name was applied to such
government. But did he?

Let us examine with some care the history of the Wilcox-Sargent trip,
and see if we can gain further light from other sources relative to
the condition of public order in the territory which they traversed.

I propose, for the most part, to let the captured Insurgent records
speak for themselves, as it is fair to assume that Insurgent officers
were at no pains to represent conditions as worse than they really
were. In view of the fragmentary character of these records, we may
also assume that the complete story would be still more interesting
and instructive than the one which I have been able to reconstruct.

Messrs. Sargent and Wilcox were almost everywhere hospitably received,
and were entertained with dinners and dances after the inimitable
fashion of the hospitable Filipino everywhere. They gained a very
favourable impression of the state of public order in the provinces
through which they passed for the reason that from the very start
their trip was strictly personally conducted. They saw exactly what
it was intended that they should see and very little more. Their
progress was several times interrupted for longer or shorter periods
without adequate explanation. We now know that on these occasions the
scenery so carefully prepared in advance for them had become a little
disarranged and needed to be straightened up. Facts which I will cite
show that most shocking and horrible events, of which they learned
nothing, were occurring in the territory through which they passed.

For a considerable time before their departure American visitors
had been carefully excluded from the Insurgent territory, but the
Filipino leaders decided to let these two men go through it to the
end that they might make as favourable a report as possible. How
carefully the way was prepared for American v