The San Francisco call., 1899-07-27

~ MOTHER has been added to the tribes septs,
! clans races or nationalities found refusing TO
be yoked among the new subjects OF our mpe-
rial experiment in the Philippines,
General Smith informs th- United States that Cap
tain Bvrne with seventy men OF the Sixteenth Imam
Try went up against $50 Babayones, the island OF
Panay The fight was with bayonets and dubbed
guns so that Captain Byrne did not have to wait for
the smoke OF battle to clear away, but was able 20
tallv results at once He reported the loss OF one
man killed and one wounded, while one hundred and
fifteen dead Babaylones were actually counted, one
was taken prisoner and many were wounded. This
happened near Bobong.
This and other reports sent out from Manila and
various other headquarters in those parts seem like lit
eral copies OF the typewrittenrepors fWeyler known
sometime as the butcher" His sangunary reputa-
ton and nomme de guerre were acquired in just such
gallant actions at arms as the glorious victory at Bo
bong Is there something in the climate that does it:
Americans with common know that in a
hand-tO-hand fight between an armed party OF
enty and one OF four hundred and fifty, such result
could follow as boased OF in this typical bulletin
sent by the censor at Manila. When Weyler was out
there he reported enough such victorious and glorious
engagements to have depopulated the Philippine
group: and yet when got there found the Span
ish bottled up in Manila and Iloio, and the natives
in peaceful possession of the rest OF the country ad-
minstering government, protecting property, ready
for the alliance negotiated with them by Pratt, Wild
man and Dewey; and existing III sufficient numbers
to put up stiff fight against when we violated
what they believed to be the alliance between us.
The battle OF Bobong ended with the capture of a
large quantity OF supplies From this it appears
probable that village was attacked and there must
have been nobody at home but very old women and
very young children OF whom one hundred and fifteen
might have easily been killed, and probably one Of
our men died OF the heat and the exuitant exercise
OF winning this victory
Upon the face OF it. as washed, wiped and exhibited
by the censor to his admring countrymen, there IS
nothing in it to arouse any enthusiasm at home The
American taxpayers, who putting up eight hun
dred thousand dollars day for such victories were
never wronged by the Babaylones of Bobong, never
received any injury at their hands, never heard of
them until this war bulletin brought the news that
part OF their money had been invested in butchering
one hundred and fifteen Babaylones chasing the rest
away and capturing their food and other prop
erty If it give the taxpayers feeling OF value re-
ceived we have objection but it the only
victory won on the 10Th OF July protest that cost
more than it was>worth The exact cash value OF the
stores taken is not stated that we have definite
offset against the bill of expense but the slaughter
OF the Babaylones cost us just S6956 per head. We
have doubt that is about the cost OF killing every
Filipino that has fallen since General Otis sat down
TO his typewriter in the palace of Manila and took up
the wondrous tale Of valor where Weyler quit
Our military officers OF high degree seem to have
not only taken on imperial Spanish manners Of the
date of Philip II and Charles v but those other fam
boyant ways which led Cervantes to sarize such vic
tories as Bobong by the charge OF Don Quxote on
the flock OF sheep