The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1898-09-02
A Calumny Refuted.
An Attempt to Smireh Colonel Funston s
Honorable Record is Properly Shown
up BY Henry Allen.

the fight at Santiago, Colonel Fred
Funston, whom Kansans have de-
lighted to honor, is deserter from
the Cuban army. In q letter to his
home paper, the Wellington Monitor
Press, speaking of Funston, Sea says:
FIRED Funston. whom we used to
hear so much about, IL q deserter
from the Cuban army, and the Cuban
general would kill him If he could.
All Cubans hate him like poison, and
suy he is the worst kind of fraud !"
- Winfield Courier.
The above does Colonel Funston q
rank injustice. 1t furnishes one of
those peculiar mixtures of half truth
and half fal sehood which sometimes
defame a man more blackly than the
entire truth or an utter falsehood
would. Il Is true that General Gar
cia's officers claim Funston deserted
from the Cuban army. heard this
story soon after my arrival in Cuba.
and asked General Garcia himself
for the truth about the matter. Gem
about the matter, but simply said
that Mt Funston had never been
given any permission by the Cuban
government to come home. General
Garcia referred me to member Of his
staff who told me the complete story
of Colonel Funston departure; that
Is, he told the Cuban side ofthe story,
| although Funston tells a considerably
different sort of a'story. The facts boil
cd down are substantially as follows:
! Colonel Funston went to cuba of his
own free will; he fought for eighte"n
months without pay or expectation
of any sort of reward At the end Of
eighteen months he applied for per-
mission to come home un a furlough,
and this permission was refused him
by the so-called Cuban government.
! Soon after this permission was re-
| fused, Mr. Funston was captured by
the Spauisrds and alterward relea ,ed
ON parole, after which he came home
and wrote his lecture. The Cuban
story I, that an American named
Rees and Funston were riding one
day not far from the Spanish lines.
Rees says that he called tunston's
attention 70 the fact that they were
getting too near a Spanish blockhouse
for safety. but that Funston paid no
attention to the warning. Finally,
stopped aud told Funston that he
(Reesl would go no nearer. Funston,
so Ress says. then told Rees that he
could 60 back IL he desired, but that
as for himself, he intended to quit
fighting for the insurgents, Rees
claims that Funston then rode right
straight up to the blockhouse aud
gave himself up in order to obtain
parole, as General Blanco had just
issued q proclamation offering parole
to all who would desert the Cuban
cause. This Ia the story told the
Cubans by Rees and which the Gu
bans believe. Funston, on the other
hand. claims that he WAS legitimate
ly captured, while trying to get
to the sea shore in order to come
home, aud that he had the permits
sion Of the Cuban government to
come and that he was obliged to
destroy his papers to keep them from
falling INTO the Spaniards' hands
The Cubans, of course, believe Rees
story that Funston purposely gave
himself up, and they all say that he
was refu -ed the furlough.
The statements that the "Cubans
hate Funston ike poison and that
"Garcia would kill him" are rank
falsehoods.
DIR. Castillo, the surgeon general of
the Cuban army, told me that Funs-
ton was the most valuable A merican
who was engaged with the insur-
gents; that he was brave and eff
fective artilleryman, and that the
refusal of the Cuban government to
grant him u furlOugh arose from the
value of his services; the Cuban OFF,
GERS having nothing but praise for
his conduct as an officer of their army
and their criticism of him for de-
sorting Is not severe. They recognize
the fact that Funston had a moral
right to come home when he wanted
to come, and they cIiticise the Cuban
government for Withholding a formal
permission.
Funston was y great favorite with
Garcia, and Garcia, when he heard
that Funston would probably return
to Cuba.as member of Gen. Miles
staff. announced to his staff officers
that he would receive Funston heart.
lily, and that no account whatever
would be taken of the manner In
which he left the army.
These are the general facts gained
in personal interviews not only with