The record-union., 1899-05-03
FILIPINo's HONOR.

ditionally without loss of honor and
little faith in the honor of their adver-
Haries. and SO little respect for the flag
of truce, that they required General
Otis to send them three officers as
hostages for the Tagal Commissioners
: who came out of their lines to Maggie
about a conditional peace.
That was bad enough but worse re-
mains, for General OTIS if we are to be-
1ieve the cable advices. weakly acceded
ITO their demand and sent three Amer
dean officers to remain prisoners with
the enemy while its commission was
visiting Manila. General Otis made a
mistake In that. 1t was clear recog-
milton of an arnistice, the existence Of
! which he was so careful to deny and
so positive in refusing in the presence Of
the emissaries of General Luna
The wonder is that the treacherous
Tagals did not shoot the hostages.
We say it is a surprise because these
Malay insurgents have heretofore re-
fused recognition to flags of truce; they
have fired upon our hospital corps, upon
the Red Cross agents in the field Of
mercy, and have gone so far as to
butcher an American army surgeon
while he was dressing the wounds of
Filipinos.
One volunteer writes to his family:
They have murdered our sentries, they
have stuck knives into our patrols. they
have robbed US and have insulted our
flag" He adds that they have not
even spared the nurses and the ambu-.
lance men, but have used white flags.
TO decoy them and our troops within
danger. He tells Of one engagement
in which our men drove the insurgents
back past an old monastery fairly COW
cred with white flags. An ambulance
went forward to bring in the wound
ed; an hour later back it came loaded
with wounded soldiers when suddenly
the insurgents fired volley from with
in the monastery killing two of the
wounded men, and wounding a Red
Cross attendant upon them. There
upon the Americans charged upon the
monastery killing most of the Tagals
within it and capturing four Of them.
AT once a drum head court-martial was
held and the fellows were tried, con-
victed and promptly executed.
The same correspondent tells of his
regimenta1 surgeon ministening on the
field TO wounded Filipinos, but in every
case the wounded men having strength
sufficient, tried to stab the doctor. Dr.
Lorenz, the insurgents captured while
discharging his mereiful task of reliev
ing suffering. They tied him to tree,
horribly mutilated and tortured him,
and then killed and beheaded him. Two
Nevada soldiers who We're out on a
pass the night before, fell into insur-
gent hands, and they were crucified-
This narrative is not the story of a
flash or sensational journal correspond
ent, but of an intelligent, level headed
soldier, writing the plain facts to his
personal friends. What was true in
his division has been reported as true
also in others. Everywhere the Ma
lays are treacherous devoid of honor
and contemptuous Of the rules Of CIV
ilized warfare, which require that when
soldier of the enemy is incapacitated
and falls into the hands Of his foes ne
is to be treated as a friend, succored
and given the same attention the cap
tor accords to his own men; that sur
geons and hospitals shall not be fired
upon and that the Red Cross insignia
operates as a safe conduct for dts legit-
innate wearers.
But these are the patriots and men
of honor Of whom the Chicago conclave
OF sentimentaIists spoke so glowingly
at the Chicago meeting on Sunday who
are simply demanding the right of in
dependence and to pursue their own
course as free men in pursuit of happi-
ness right we have denied them,
say the anti-expansionists, and fo~
which we are killing them and disgrace
lag the American flag. The mistake of
these modern copperheads is in their
premise. Men have not the rights of
free men unless they pursue the meth
DDS free men under republican forms OF
government are required to adopt.
The right to liberty and pursuit of
happiness is a right running to those
who are capable of exercising the priv
ileges and duties, and of assuming the
obligations of free men. The forces
of civilization are not to be turned
aside from their onward sweep by the
bleat of sayages and barbarians that
it is their right to keep in dedication
to anarchy, barbarism and savagery
any part of the habitat globe. Gen
eral Otis is dealing with semi-savage
tribes, just as civilization everywhere
always has and now is dealing with
them. He therefore, stepped aside
from the safe path when he placed a
group of our men in the hands of these
semi-savages as hostages
II the insurgents could not trust to
our honor, demanding as they do so
much for their, own; if they had no
faith in the protection of the flag OF
truce when lifted up by Americans then
the insurgent enissaries should have
been told to go back and let the grim
nuzzles Of American guns settle the
difficulty. The ahonor" of which these
barbar1ans pirate is false pride,