General Otis was not directed by the Secretary of War to make such
an answer as is set forth in the resolution, nor were any answers
to communications upon the subject of the cessation of hostilities
prescribed by the Secretary of War to General Otis, but he was left to
exercise in respect thereof his own judgment, based upon his superior
knowledge of the conditions surrounding the troops under his command.
I also transmit a copy of a cable dispatch from General Otis, sent from
Manila February 8, 1899, received in Washington February 9, 1899, being
the same dispatch to which he refers in his reply of May 1, 1900 as
misleading. So far as I am informed, General Otis did not afterwards
reply, except as set forth in his dispatch of May 1, 1900. He was not
directed by the Secretary of War to reply, and no answer was made by him
or the Secretary of War to an application to cease fighting. There
appears to have been no such application.
I further transmit a copy of a letter from the Secretary of the Navy to
Admiral George Dewey, dated May 14, 1900, and a copy of the Admiral's
reply, dated May 17, 1900.
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