The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1869-10-06
HOW WARS SHOULD BE CONDUCTED.

War is such a terrible calamity to chris
tian and civilized people that 1t would
seem no argument should be needed against
unnecessary crueltes and inhumanites.-
There are enough of these as inevitable conse
quences, without adding others by design,
The acquiescene in the shooting down Of
men in battle by other men between whom
no fued, quarrel or unkind feeling exists,
is all that ought to be exacted of civilized,
christian people in support Of war as n means
Of settling disputes between nations and
states A hundred years will probably not
concede this much to the voracous monster
which calls for thousands of human lives at
a meal.
That nation conducting war, particu-
larry against its own subjects or citizens,
never itself appreciates the degree of cruel
" and inhumauty which it imparts TO the
struggle, is signally illustrated by the note
which our Minister to Spain sent to Regent
Serrano, in which he is said to have remon.
strated with that power against the inhu.
mainly and extreme cruelty with which she
carries on the war in Cuba, and dwells on the
execution of the two innocent Americans at
Santiago. If Regent Serrano were disposed to
discuss the question with our Minister, US he
evidently is not, he could easily lodge an eGec.
tive answer in his teeth by citing the numer
GUS precedents for such treatment Of aus
pected spies and unsrmed enemies, which
his own government furnished during oul
late war. He could have replied that Mr.
Minister Sickles own government, conduct
ed by the political party of which he is a
representative and member, repeatedly i'm
prisoned in dungeons men who were
found at their homes in bed, within
its own military lines, merely on suspicion
and because Of their opinions that many
that hang around a speedy and undeserved
death, and tina! his government in these in.
generations, often lent itself TO private
malice and resentment, without even pre-
text of protecting itself from their supposed
evil designs. The Regent might say further
to Minister Sickles, that near the lines OF
the coutending armies it was not very un.
common occurrence for citizens to be ar
rested and shot, without any sort of inves
NEauon OF trial, and on the mere statement
or report by an ignorant, excited negro, @,
other equally reliable authority, that the
were suspicious or bad characters; and tina
IN this way scores Of innocent men wer
torn from their families and summary deal
with as convicted criminals. He might
further cite the character Of those military
commissions, organized to convict, and ask
him the difference in the practical results
to the suspected parties, at Santiago and be.
fore these courts" where every rule of ov.
idence was violated, and perjured villains
were hired to swear away the lives Of even
innocent women.
There is at least one gratifying feature OF
the case if our government rracticed, dur
ing the war, the most revolving crueties towar,
its own citizens, it did not become so de
bauched by them as to enjoy repetition O
them by another power, toward its own sub
jects or our citizens; and notwithstanding
our protest is entered by man leas. cal
culated to feel in his own soul the justice
and propriety Of it, yet we are committed
as uetion against other people ensctng
cruelties in war, even though we did Sc
them the example