The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1899-05-27
WHAT ARE WE FIGHTING FOR?

That is the question asked by Charles
L. Jackson, OF Deadwood, S. D., who is
one of the volunteer soldiers i'll the Phil
lppines. We could scarcely believe our
eyes when we saw the nterrogatory as
headline to his letter in last Monday S
issue OF the Pioneer Press, an offensive
partisan sheet which vehemently at
tackled Gov. Lind for complying with
the wishes OF parents in demanding the
return of their boys in the Minnesota
regiment from foreign service after the
war with Spain was over and the peace
treaty was signed. 1t was only a few
weeks ago that the editor of the Pioneer
Press maliciously lnisrepresented Hon.
Z. II. OBrien, who furnished two sons
for the liberation Of Cuba, for saying at
a meeting OF the auxiliary association
that our boys might be in better bust
ness than in Staying the wretcl,ed Fill
pinos." In view of these facts we are
astounded that the managers of the ST..
Pau paper permitted the letter OF the
South Dakota boy to appear in its
columns. 1t must have been printed
through inadvertence, no doubt; and
we are glad that it has, for it shows that
the brave boys of the Northwest who
enlisted to free the Cubans from Spanish
oppression have no relish in shooting
the purchased subjects OF Spain in the
Far East. The boys obey orders and
slaughter the Filipinos as commanded,
with the same spirit that actuated the
famous 600 at Balaclava when some
body Numbered. 81 don't Just know
what to think about this deal" saws
young Jackson. What are we fighting
for anyway" he continues, and then
he describes the havoc wrought in the
American ranks thus:
This war is great deal larger than the
Spanish war ever was. More men have
been killed and wounded. There have
been I,4oo killed and wounded since
Feb. 4, 1Soo The night came back in
to town, at the railway station, where
they were dressing the wounded, the
boys were SO brave, never murmur
from them. I could see them shut their
teeth and knew they were in awful
pain. One poor fellow was shot in the
neck and was calling for water, but
could not drink. Another had Mauser
clear through his head and was still
conscious. South Dakota had eight men
killed, including three officers, and
about twenty wounded on the 27th. Gen.
Hale was struck when standing right be-
hind me. got hole in my hat. This
war may last for years yet The "nig-
gers" fighting and retreating, are wary
enough not to get surrounded, and al
ways escape. There is grave RESPONSE
bility to be fixed some place, and the
one is to be pitied on whom it falls
There are many lives and limbs OF good
American soldiers to be avenged and
there are innumerable Filipinos dead
You will see lots in the papers, nc
doubt, but it cannot be made any worse
than it was-mud and water march
charge and fight. The ringers" arc
armed with rifles superior to ours. The,
kept the regulars back and made the
volunteers do most OF the fighting
Why, l don't know, but there have beer
| ooAAiS awful lllduC ICIc ant
many lives lost uselessly.
The poor boy'is right when he de-
clares that grave responsibility rest.
upon somebody for the "many lives ane
limbs of good American soldiers" Til,
man who is responsible for it all is VIII
liam Mckinley, who called upon then
iii the name of humanity to free tn,
people of Cuba from Spanish despotism
and when they responded he sent then
to the Philippines in the interests O
plutocracy to Stay and be slain in tha
horrible manner. "They kept the regu
lars back and made the volunteers d,
most of the fighting" says the Dakot
= boy. OF course, they did, and if an,
ID To