Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1899-10-14
Tells How the Enlisted Men
Are Mistreated by SnOb
Officers.
Would Give Up All Coming to
Them So as to Get Back
Again.
MONKEYS NAMED AFTER The STAFF

The Kentucky Irish American has had
occasion during the past year to publish
interesting letters from Timothy j. Rior-
dan, brave young Irish-American sol
der, who spent the last thirteen months
in the Philippines as member of Com
pany A. Fifteenth Infantry, who was
honorably mustered out and arrived in
Louisville last Sunday.
In view of the past unanimity of the
returning soldiers in censuring the con-
duct of Gen. Otis, and knowing that Mr..
Riordan would rather eulogize than dis
parage superior officer, he was inter
viewed relative to the many charges
made, and in reply makes the following
statement, which shows the absolute
necessity for change in the policy being
pursued in the Philippine Islands:
Editor Kentucky Irish American:
Having been in the Philippine Islands
for the past thirteen months, and being
the recipient of copy of your valuable
paper l think the better way to answer
your questions is to write a statement as
to the far East question, which is now
causing quite lot of talk in the home
and social circles of the United States,
which develops the fact that the present
warfare is favored by few and objected to
by many. have Just returned from the
Philippines and think there are but few
men down there at the present time who
would not be willing to give up all their
claims and rights to whatever moneys are
due them from our Uncle Sammy for the
privilege of returning to resume their
respective yocations. whatever they may
have been. l am back, and thank God
for il, and indeed would not return there
for any amount of money. ! saw the
islands and know what they are. We
were battling, but not for glory. Our
soldiers are fighting against people who
mean to do battle as long as one of them
lives, or until the United States sends
troops enough to sweep the islands from
end to end and remove those who think
it is crime for man not to protect HIM
self, aud believe the present state of
affairs in the islands is nothing more than
a war by the capitalists for the capitalists
of the United States.
We are losing lots of the young man
hood of America in those islands through
disease and sickness-more than in fight
ing the insurgents. Things in the Phil
ippiues are not as they should be. Those
who have charge of the army of occupa-
ton, think, should be under the care of
a few trained nurses, for they are too
young and childish to be let run loose
around Manila, or else ought to be con-
fined in some school for children, as they
have exhibited childish warp more than
once in the censored far East Upon my
arrival home l was informed by several
of my friends that they had sent me some
copies of your paper, of which / received
while crossing the peaceful Pacific, men,
bers of the Fourteenth aud Twenty-third
Infantry. that many of their papers never
reached them.
The opinion expressed by all the men
on the ship was that "the so-called COM
mander of the American army in Manila
is no good" In Manila when one asked
what Otis was doing the answer was to
the effect that he was ''in the quarters
surrounded by big guard to keep the
insurgents off while he was warming his
: feet" which was not necessary, as the
surroundings are warm enough at any
time to keep even a dead mans feet
warm. II is not my desire to ridicule my
superior officers, and now that I am a
free man again, which was not in the
army, will only say that which I can
back up with the day and date and hour
, and minute, and what say they can not
; deny. United States soldiers going to
/ war, when everything is in modern shape,
from battleships to the latest tactics Of
, the infantry, were not fed as in modern
war. Canned roast beef and canned
tomatoes seemed to be the only food We
could get. and when we got them they
made almost everybody sick, and many
was the prayer uttered for the human
who invented canned beef think il
would not have been healthy for him tC
have shown up among us, for there
I would surely be some more rotten bee
/. ready for canning.
AS regards the islands, do not see o.
: what benefit in the world they are to the
q United States, as the people can be of nc
y good to us. Those islands may be ricf
. in gold and minerals, but they are infer
. ior to anything ever saw. The gold i
! of low grade, which is made into ring
t by the natives and sold for song
. There is rainy season which lasts for
couple of months. and when that is owe
the country is flooded, and where WI
! performed outpost duty the water was a
Z times waist deep. don't think whit