The Mena star., 1898-09-21
ALEssoN FOR SPAIN.
American Leniency contrasted With
Past History.

done as much as anything to bring
Spain into treating for peace. Many
of the Spanish papers had taught their
readers that the Americans we've d
barbaric race who practice unheard OF
c-uelties, and the discovery that Spain
was dealing with perhaps the most hui
snane race on earth did much toward
appeasing the war rage of the common
Spanish people" 30 speaks Paris
newspaper, which further along, how
. ever. qualities it's tribute to our human
ity by declaring that American 'enien-
cy toward the Spaniards is undoubtedly
greater than it would have been il the
nations had been more evenly matched
and the Spanish had been able TO infiict
more. serious injury upon us.
The fact that. as compared with our
antagonist, we are big and overwhelm
ing is not sufficient to account in any
measure for the kind treatment be-
slowed on Spanish captives. 1t is
because the American civilization IS
the most advanced of the age. 1t is
because we have been able to throw
off quicker than any of the other ma
tons the cInging methods OF the
medieval centuries when wars were
conflicts of determination and men
fought for the love of blood and death.
The human race everywhere has been
losing its tigerish instinct. The meth
DDS employed in war even so late as
the early days Of the present century.
will no longer be tolerated by public
sentiment It is no longer considered
excusable to visit su fering of any sort
upon soldiers who have laid down
their arms Nations in modern times
have even agreed to abandon the de
struction of property which formerly
attended every invasion of the foe.
Cities no longer are to be ruthlessly
BON barded, non combatants must go
scott free, the rights of property are
held sacred. and IN every way humani-
ty has taken the place Of vengeful
brutality that once was the concomi-
tant of al! organized human strife.
1t has taken long time for man to
come out IF the ways of the savage.
For centuries there seems to have been
no advancement at all In Gibbons
Rome we read of the atrocities OF the
time OF Attila when the Thuringian
generals were ordered ito go out and
kill their captives as well as their host
age and all the people who might be
found; and they did SO and among the
same were 200 young maidens who
were tortured with exquisite and un-
relentng rage, their bodies being torn
ass,n,ier by Wild horses, or their bones
crushed by The weight of rolling wag-
ons and their unburied limbs were
thrown on the public road to become
the prey OF dogs and vultures." Not
quite so bad, but nearly, was the order
given by Henry VIII. 1000 years later
when he wrote to his ministers st the
close of the rebellion of 1897: 'Our
pleasure Is that before you close up
said banner again you shall, in any
wise. cause such dreadful execution to
be done upon a good number of the
Inhabitants of every town, village and
hsmlet as well by the hanging them
up to trees as by the quartering them.
and the setting of their heads and
quarters iD every town so they may
become a fearful spectacle, aud this
we require you to do without pity or
respect" And King Henry's orders
were carried into effect for 1t was the
universal custom of his day to put to
death prisoners who could no. pay
ransom, and to slay the unarmed as
well as fighting foes.
Spain was the most atrocious of all
the European nations and the slowest
to reform. Her war history reeks
with frightfnl tales She has not only
put prisoners and neon batants to
death. out she applied torture and
spared not even babes. Froissart, the
war historian. tells us that once he
heard Spanish ambassador boasting
of how Sfaln treated her conquered
enemies. THE Spaniards had taken
Lisbon. and. after the garrison had
surrendered and thrown themselves on
the mercy of the conquerors, every
man in the city who had borne arms
was deprived OF his right eve, left hand
and left foot The non combatant