Washington sentinel., 1898-05-28
The Guantanamo Incident.

come excited over an alleged re-
cent use of the Spanish flag on our
vessels, with view to deception.
One speaker desired that the pow
ers should be notified OF this Of
fence; another declared that under
international law our act was pir-
acy; third held that our Govern
ment, should il sanction the Guam
tanamo incident, would not de-
serve to be treated as civilized,
while the suggestion OF Count AL
menas was that Spain should inn
mediately resort to privateering as
a punishment for our conduct.
The alleged flying Of Spanish
colors is apparently connected
with the recent entry of two Of our
vessels into Guantanamo Bay.
Whether they really did enter
under the Spanish flag, or under
some foreign flag resembling it, we
cannot say; but it is certain that
our navy regulations expressly de
clare that the use Of foreign flag
on shipboard to deceive an enemy
is permissible. The only qualifi-
cation is that the foreign flag must
be hauled down before firing is be-
gun, since fighting must never be
undertaken without first showing
the national colors. This rSgula-
tion is the more noticeable because
it is no less clearly held bY us that
on land an enery's filg or his uni
form cannot lawfully be used for
purposes OF deceit. Our authori-
ties even hold that If captured
clothing is issued to troops from
necessity, it should be so marked
that the difference will attract an
enemv's attention at distan ce.
The general principle laid down
by Halleck is that good faith is es-
sential in war as in peace, because
otherwise war might become in
human massacre; but with that un-
derstood, stratagem to deceive an
enemy is allowable. Whenever
we have expressly or tacitlY en-
gagged to speak the truth to an
enemy, it would be per6dv in US
to deceive his confidence in our
sincerity. But il the occasion i'm
poses upon us no moral obligation
to disclose to him the truth, We are
perfectly justiiable in leading him
into error, either by words or
actions" AS a specific illustration
it is added that linen and ships are
sometimes so disguised as to de-
ceive the enemy as to their real
character, and by this means enter
a place or maintain a position ad-
vantageous to their plan Of at
tack" Such is war.
The disguise of warship as a
merchantmen in order to bring an
unsuspecting enemy within range,
and false response in answering
a hail, are familiar instances of
tricks in naval warfare. When, for
example, Semmes, in the Alabama,
decoyed the ill-iaied Hatteras un-
der his guns, he gave his ships
name, IN answer to a call, Her
Majesty's ship Petrel" and when
he had assured himself of the
nationality OF the Hatteras by the
latter's frank response, poured a
broadside into her just as the Hat
teras was sending boat to board
him. This vas ruse, and
one about which the victims said
bitter things, but it was not called
violation of the rules of war.
The exact ruse, if there was
any, employed by our ships at
Guantanamo Bay. remains to be
learned from our official reports.
Possibly the case may turn out as
on a former occasion Of lombard
ment without notice, when we
justified our act by precedents, and
then had later tidings that the
shore batteries had, after all, be-
gun the affair by firing first. But
whatever the facts regarding the
Guantanamo Bay, we can safely
assume that no act OF our ships
here was"piracy," that the powers
will not demonstrate against any
thing done by us there, and that
Spain may do well to refrain from
privateering on that ground.