The evening times., 1899-02-24
No Cancellation for Murderers.


II is announced that instructions will be
sent to General Otis to pursue any policy
toward the Filipinos his judgment may
suggest. While it has been thought that
he has waited for re-enforcements before
pushing his campaign against Aguina.do's
army. it is intended to notify him that he
need not use gloves through fear of the
disfavor of the Administration.
This leaves him entirely free. 1t is not
known that he has been restrained from
drastic methods by a doubt as TO the atti-
tude of the Washington Government, but
there can be no reason, now, why ne
should not make himself terrible to the
barbarians.
Yesterday there poured into our lines
thousands of women bearing their chill
dren in their arms. They feared, with
reason. that although their husbands and
brothers were in the Filipino army, they
would be sacrificed without scruple in
the dculOuldtdl pun pO9S vi tiS 'NNNN0
burn and loot Manila and the suburban
villages.
Their fears are well founded. Detach-
ments of Aguinaldo's murderers invaded
the city. passing the American guards at
night. and fired section inhabited eX-
clusively by Filipino families. They
showed no care for the lives of their own
women and children. The plot to massa-
ere the Americans. including the non
combatants and all foreigners, has been
persisted in. Defeated in their first at
tempt by the vigilance of the provost
marshal, they incurred the danger oil
death by creeping past our sentrles ana
constructing breastworks in part OF the
city. Here they fired the huts and from
the other houses shot at the Americans
who fought the flames.
In addition to the policy of assasinat' on
which includes as victims the women and
children as we'll as the wounded and the
medical department. and in addition Z"
incendiarism which is L wanton destruc-
tion of the homes of Filipinos, they have
proclaimed that no quarter shall be shown
TO prisoners.
Except in Cuba under the butcher Wey-
Ter and in the Carlist wars in Spain, no
such heathenism has been practiced in
modern times. even by the red savages of
North America It cannot be said that
tguinaldo and his alleged government
from whom the specific orders for massa-
ere and tncendiarism have come, are ig-
norant of the laws Of civilized warfare.
1t is NOT three weeks since Aguinaldo
boas,ed that his army had respected these
] laws.
II is fun time. now. to remove the gloves
and show the iron hand. We are restrain
ed from retaliatory methods but it is i'm
perative that We should assume the ag
/ gressiye and capture the leaders or drive
| them from the islands. Once in our
! hands. there is little doubt that Aguinal-
! do and his associates will betray the for
eign conspirators who have led them into
! this rebellion and into the adoption of a
! style of warfare which they believed would
induce the Americans To withdraw from
the Philippines and leave them to fall in
10 the hands Of the conspirators.
If there is any reason to fear that Cen
eral OTIS will not understand the instruc-
/ tions to mean that he is 10 crush the re-
! bellion at once and deal severely with the
/ leaders. they should be made more spe-
cific When he has endorsements
enough. be should be told to scatter the
rebel army and capture Aguinaldo and the
I members CT his alleged government and
imprison them for wholesale murder un-
less they reveal the source of their inspi-
ration and assistance; that there is no
room for policy of conciliation until
every rebel has laid down his arms or is
! extinct.