Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1899-09-08
SILVER SYSEM HERE WAS NOT 16
TO i. AND WITH SEEMING RE-
LUCTANCE HE o KID THE ITEM.

>~~~~~
nothing but to make sensations for our
papers is most unjust, for I doubt If
ever a body of newspaper men were
more conservative in the presence of
unlimited provocation for sensational
ism. There have been three or four
instances which / now recall of con-
duct by our soldiers resembling the
episode of the Seventy-first New York
in Cuba, which were matters of COM
mon knowledge here and which none
Of us have attempted to cable nor de-
sired to.
THERE HAS BEEN, ACCORDING
TO OTIS HIMELF, AND THE PER-
SONAL KNOWLEDGE OF EVERY
ONE HERE, A PERFECT ORGIE OF
LoOTING AND WANTON DESTRUC-
TION CT PROPERTY, AND MOST
OUTRAGEOUS BLACKMALING OF
THE NATIVES AND CHINAMEN IN
MANILA, AND VARIOUS INCIDENTS
LIKE THE SHOOTING DOWN OF
SEVERAL FILI9INoS FOR AT
TEMPTING TO RUN FROM AR
REST AT A COCK FIGHT, NOT TO
MENTION COURTMARTIALS OF
OFFICERS FOR COWARDICE AND
THE DISMISSAL OF GENERAL
FOR GETTING HOPELESS
.LY DRUNK ON THE EVE OF TWO
IMPORTANT BATTLES-ALL OF
WHICH THE CORRESPONDENTS
HAVE LEFT UNTOUCHED BY COM
MON CONSENT.
ALSO THERE ARE THE USUAL
NUMBER OF ARMY SCANDALS AND
INTRIGUES, WHICH WE HAVE NOT
AIRED, FOREMOST AMONG THEM
THE FACT Ut Is UNIVERSALLY
CONSIDERED A FACT IN THE
ARMY THAT OTIS IS DEEPLY
PREJUDICED AGAINST AND JEAL-
Gus OF ,LAWTON, AND HAS DONE
EVERYTHING IN HIS POWER TO
KEEP LAWTON IN THE BACK
GROUND AND PREVENT HIM FROM
MAKING A REPUTATION.
AS a correspondent of the Associated
Press, am supposed to have no opin-
ions, but in writing Of events like this
war one must necessarily to convey any
idea Of the trend of affairs go some
what into the field of description Of
conditions, ETC., which are in the final
analysis matters Of opinion. In doing
SO l have endeavored merly to reflect
the views of the great majority of well
informed people. Whether have done
so correctly you can easily judge by re-
ferring to the stories l sent ''via Hong
Kong" soon after my arrival and after
wards, Zone on the 18th Of April, saying
that notwithstanding the optimistic
official view the war was likely to be a
long one and that 100000 men would
be needed to end IT'D You will notice
also that the tone of the Hong Kong
dispatches was decidedly different from
those sent from Manila direct. The
only time General Otis has given us any
freedom was during his row with
Schurmann over the peace negotiations,
when (by insinuation and those at
tempted diplomatic methods which pub
lie men seem to think newspaper men
do not see through he was encourag-
ing us to roast Schurmann and take his
side.
EVERYONE AGREES THAT OTIS
HAS BUNGLED AFFAIRS FROM
THE BEGINNING; THAT THE WAR
MIGHT HAVE BEEN AVOIDED BY
TACT AND MIGHT HAVE BEEN
ENDED BEFORE NOW BY SOME
OTHER PLAN OF CAMPAIGN THAN
SLOSHING AIMLESSLY ABOUT
TAKING A TOWN TO-DAY, DESER-
TING IT TOMORROW, RETAINING
IT THE NEXT WEEK-AND BY
DIPLOMACY.
The Hong Kong Press, which has al
ways CudluplON6U The AluSllCdu sue "a
the Philippine questions, reflects the
feeling of most people here IN an edi-
torial beginning: at is not difficult to
imagine the disgust and indignation
that would be felt and expressed in
the United States when once the coun-
try awoke to the real condition of af-
fairs in the Philippines. There has
been mismanagement of the grossest
description.
l wish the etiquette of officialdom
might permit Dewey and Schurmann
to speak to Mckinley and the public
concerning Otis as freely as they have
to newspaper men. Those two are the
only men of the cslibre of Statesmen
the Government has sent here.
Otis is a bueaucrat who never leaves
his desk, has never seen his soldiers in
the field, and insists upon managing
both the civil and military branches
of the government, although either one
would fully occupy a very able man,
because he trusts no one but himself,
and withal has faculty for antagoniz-
ing everyone with whom he has to
deal, as he has antagoniZed the news