The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1899-07-26
THE TRUTH TOLD
As to The Doctoring of the News
by Gen. Otis.
FACTS ARE REVERSED.
crselman, Correspondent Of the
New York Journal, Refused
to Send Dispatches
Because Forced to


Apocaring simultaneously with the
"-)und robin" Of the American news
,aper correspondents at Manila, COM
planning that General Otis is suppress
ing the facts and keeping the people OF
the United States in ignorance OF the
alarming conditions as they exist IN the
Philippines, James Creelman, the fam
Gus war correspondent ofthe New York
Journal, cables from London his obser.
vations during recent two months
STAY in Manila and on the firing lines
in the archipelago. He charges Gen
era! Otis with Incompetence, and with
'doctoring" press dispatches TO paint
the conditions as optimistic, when IN
reality they are and have been just The
reverse, and with reporting imminent
success when in reality, caused by his
own mismanagement, imminent fail
ure" has been the result. Mr. Creel-
nan letter goes into detail. /; follows:
MR.. CREELNAy's LETTER.
After having spent several months
with our troops in the Philippines, |
am firmly convinced that unless Gen
eral Otis is removed and competent
general put in command the whole cam
paigu will be failure.
| have beeL in the Cuban campaign
as we'll as in the Philippines, and l can
say honestly without the slightest pre-
iudice that General Ois is much more
responsible for the disastrous humiliat-
ing condition Of affairs in the east than
General Shafter was for the calamltles
in Cuba, for the war department furn'
ished General Otis with perfectly
equipped, we'll fed army, and he had
months of dry weather in which to tight
against an imperfectly organized enemy.
TO be perfectly plain, General Otis IS
fussy old man, unaccustomcd to any
thing but regimental command, and
saturated with the ideas and methods
Of routine clerk. He is a man who
has grown old serving in regiment,
and his experience and abilities do not
50 outside Of regimental lines. Now
that he finds himself in command Of
large army intrusted with the govern
ment of a large archipelago, it is no
wonder that things are as they are.
It is because of this knowledge that
Admiral Dewey, without consulting
General Otis, privately cabled to Presi-
dent Mckinley asking him to send to
Manila a small commission OF men
skilled in craftsmanship and diplomacy.
1t was apparent to him, as to others,
that General Otis was not competent to
deal with the far reaching, intricate
problems involved in war with the
natives.
Again and again Admiral Dewey ez-
pressed at the beginning Of the present
hostilities his dissatisfaction over the
failure 10 make any advance against the
enemy.
When finally, in despair Of any ac-
ton by Otis, Dewey began to take pos
session of other islands, Otis wrote to
the admiral bitter letter complaining
that the navy was forcing the campaign
too fast.
OFFICERS DENoUSCE OTIS.
Twas there then and remember how
generals and other officers on the firing
liue bitterly denounced General Otis
in private for immersing himself In
petty details of municipal affairs, army
contracts and custom house cases, while
our firing line was stretched twenty
two measured miles around Manila,
lying idly before an enemy growing
stronger and mora expert IN infantry
fire every day, while week after week
of dry weather slipped away and the
rainy season approached,
Even before the first insurgent attack
on our troops, Aguinaldo was throwing
up strong earthworks in sight OF our
lines. Major General Anderson, com
manding the first division, insisted that
his troops were being endangered, and
asked permission to stop the Flliplnos
from building Notifications.
eve will do nothing, said General
Otis, unless the Filipinos commit
some act Of war.
But they are entrenching them
selves against US, )" replied General An
derson, 'and the moment a man puts
SPADE in the ground with hostile intent
he has committed an act Of war.
Anderson's arguments were useless.
The entreaties of other generals to be
permitted to put an end to the belllger-
ert work of Filipinos were OF no avail.
When | reached Manila a few days
after the bloody outbreak the whole
army was laying in trenches, being
fired at night and day, while General
Otis was absorbed in routine details
that an army clerk could have done as
well. He refused to allow the army to
make any advance. So insistent was
General Anderson that the only way to
destroy the enemy was to fight them
that G eneral Otis treated him with open
hostility and finally had this splendid
soldier return to the United States.
General Otis principal thought
seemed to be to prevent real facts being
telegraped to the United States, and his
abuse Of censorship has been almost IN
credible.
While the army in tie field was anx-
iously awaiting orders during the az
vance on Malolos, he spent whole
hour reading my dispatches to The
Journal striking out names Of officers
mentioned for gallantry, changing de-
scriptive passages, erasing all mention
of the part played by the navy and even
occupying five minutes in selecting a
single word.
This is the same experience which
other correspondents have had during
the war. General Otis has wasted hours
of valuable time during the most crltl-
cal days in revising press dispatches,
coloring them to suit his own views.
NEWS COMPLETELY REVERSED.
4 n 4.