In the exercise of these high powers the commander must be guided by his judgment and his experience and a high sense of justice.

It is held to be the right to levy contributions upon the enemy in all places which may be in military possession by conquest.

You are instructed to confer with the Secretary of War in order that measures may be devised by which any conflict of authority between the officers of our army and navy in the Philippines may be avoided.

In order that there may be no conflict of authority between the army and the navy in the administration of affairs in the Philippines you are instructed to confer with the Secretary of the Navy so far as necessary for the purpose of…

To permit such an action to be brought now is simply, without any reason of a special nature, to grant a privilege to these claimants which is denied to all other citizens of the United States.

For these reasons I am constrained to withhold my approval from this bill.

The Government can only defend itself against claims of this nature through its public officers and with the use of such public records as the Departments may furnish.

I fail to see any reason in the facts connected with these claims for granting to these parties relief of this extraordinary nature.

Feeling as our people feel, and speaking in their name, I at once sent a message to Commodore Dewey thanking him and his officers and men for their splendid achievement and overwhelming victory and informing him that I had appointed him an…

The magnitude of this victory can hardly be measured by the ordinary standard of naval warfare.

Promptly obeying that order, the United States squadron, consisting of the flagship Olympia, Baltimore, Raleigh, Boston, Concord, and Petrel, with the revenue cutter McCulloch as an auxiliary dispatch boat, entered the harbor of Manila at…