Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1899-06-23
ARE WE A CHRISTIAN NATION.


sive, the fairest dealing nation on
earth? Is our war of determination
now going on in the far off PHILIPPINE
islands an example of the kind of
christianity we have learned from the
examples of Christi.
| The DEMOCRAT has before called
! the attention of our people to the
methods, sanctioned and endorsed by
the republican administration. that
are practiced In our war with the half
savages of that foreign ls..d whose
birth.right Spain pretended to sell to
a commission from this country SEEK
ing to bring about peace. We have
never, at any time sought to cast the
faintest shadow upon the course of the
brave, unfolding, resistless Ameri.
can soldiery who are obeying their
orders and upholdIng their flag.
What we do say, is that it is shame
and a disgrace that our fitting men
should be called upon to work in such
an unholy cause.
The press in this land not in sym
pathy with the policy of expansion
and of conquest for conquests sake,
has from the first warned the nation
against the very things the expan-
sionists are now admitting.
Here is an extract from the columns
of the Tribune, the cuckoo organ of
this city. Have the neighbors and
friends of the editor of that paper
thought him to be the blood thirsty
partizan the following would Indics te:
"It Is evident from the dispatches
received in regard to the Philippine
war, that more troops should be sent
there at once, The enemy is more
stubborn, determined, treacherous
than has been believed. The fact
that they hang around the outskirts
of Manila with force sufficient to
threaten the city, have heavy field
guns, good arms, smokeless powder,
and have honey combed the entire
country with earth works, indicates
that we have yet some hard fighting
| before us. We have been treating
them, when captured, as if they were
| human beings, which is a mistake.
There should be call for all the vol
unteers that the President has auth
| ority to put in the field at once, and
the war should be made one of vigor
ous slaughter. 1t is wasting time,
money, and lives of good men to mon
key with these man eaters"
1--WE have been treating them,
when captured, as human beings"
Have we. Here is the way some of
the boys who are there, and know, say
they are treated:
Anthony Michea, of the Third
artillery, has written to his father.
Capt. George Michae of st. Gather
ines, Ont, the following: "We bonn
barded place called Malabon and
then went in and killed every native
we met, men, women and children.
1t was dreadful sight, the killing of
the poor creatures"
Leonard F. Adams of Ozark, Mo-,
in letter describing the battle of
February 4, says: Il don't know
how many men, women and children
the Tennessee boys did kill. They
would not tske any prisoners. One
company of Tennessee boys was sent
ints headquarters with thirty prison
ers, and got there with about hun
dred chickens and no prisoners.
| Additional evidences of the truth
of these charges comes from the
Manila correspondent to the New
York Sun. One sentence is sufficient
"To shoot a man at six-foot range
with Springfield rife is a hard thing
to do. but the orders we're to let nj
Insurgents live, and off would go the
whole side of his head"
James Tull, of Co. L, Twentieth
Kansas, in a letter published in tbs
Coffeyville Journal, says: "Our mer
took no prisoners, for the boys believ,
that the only good Filipinos are dead
. ones, 30 every one that we saw wa
shot down like rabbit
This is horrible and revoltint
: enough, but the correspondent of tn
st. Louis Republic has informed hi
f paper privately that the censorship
{ exercised by Otis over the wires ant