The evening times., 1898-07-06
lay about the matter. The country has
complete confidence in the daring and
generalship of schIey. 1t has none in
Sampson.
DO We rm,t.te spain.

Up to within few days the impress
Spaniards may have done in the way of
rape, murder and the butchery Of
wounded men in hospitals. when they
were fighting the Cubans alone, they
would endeavor to respect the rules Of
civilized warfare in their contest with
us. Not that their savage disregard
for the common dictates of humanity
would be at all changed or modified,
but the desire of their government to
appear well in the eyes Of Europe was
expected to impose something like civ
ilized conditions upon Spanish COM
manders In the field.
The history of the battles before San
tiago shows that this idea was a mis-
taken one. While raising nineteen Red
Cross flags over prominent buildings in
the city to save them and their inmates
from American shells. the Spanish
troops defending the place have utter
ly refused to respect the same emblem
over field hospitals. and Linares' sharp
shooters have regularly paid their most
particular attention to wounded men
who were being carried to the rear in
litters, and their carriers. Numbers of
our fallen braves have thus been killed
as they were being taken to the rear.
and the fact should be properly adyer-
tised.
Under ordinary circumstances such a
practice would seriously shock the sense
of Europe and condemn Spain to the
detestation and contempt of every nom
barbarous nation. Unfortunately. there
seems to be some reason to fear that
any protest or threat of reprisal on our
part would be met by the ''tu quoque"
argument, and perhaps successfully.
if we are to believe sensational, and,
we hope inaccurate newspaper stories
from the front.
If it be true that forty Spanish SOL
diers who marched out from block
house. walked to the American lines
and surrendered to one of our officers,
were turned over to the Cubans only
to have their heads cut off imme iiately,
it will be hard to convince anyone that
We are any better than the Spaniards.
The alleged incident to which allusion
is made should have the instant atten-
ton of our war authorities.
Everybody connected with the Amer
ioan Army and Navy knows. or is pre-
sumed to know, that to kill an enemy
after he has surrendered, is disarmed
and an unres,sting prisoner. is an Of
fense punishable with death, and justly
so. The officer who allowed the Cubans
to take his prisoners and murder them.
if the story be true, committed that
crime forty times in one. and. whoever
he may be, should have a drum-he ad
court martial and be executed at once
and without hope of pardon.
We cannot afford to initiate the hell
ishness of Spain, nor to allow our aux
iliaries to wreak savage vengeance up
on helpless individuals, though they be
the very men who have systematically
used the same method in dealing with
the prosecuted Cubans. If cruel retalia-
tions are forced upon US, they should
| be inflicted only after serious and dis
passionate consideration by the war au-
thorities, and in strict accordance with
OTutIS lhSy oS
allowed otherwise, under the extreme
penalty of military law.
We still hope that the prominent
newspaper proprietor who sent the de-
capitation story from Ell Caney was
misled as to the facts. If we are COM
PEELED to believe it, there will be black
page in the history of this war that
;t y
shame and disgust.