The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-06-01
HORRIBLE!

The War In the Philippines, the MUIR
der of Prisoners and the Slaughter
of Women and Children.
We do not believe in kindling fire in
the rear of the government, when it is
engaged in carrying on a foreign war.
Carping and criticising, as to small de-
tails, should be held in allegiance until
the conflict is over. The old toast is
correct:
OUR COUNTRY! MAY SHE BE
ALWAYS RIGHT; BUT RIGHT OR
WRONG, MY COUNTRY"
But our government should not vio-
late the laws of civilized warfare and
indulge in an indiscriminate slaughter
of men, women and children. That is
savage and barbarian, and worthy of
the middle ages.
If the statements contained in the
following letter to the Chicago Times
Herald, the great administration organ,
Of May 25, are true, the whole country
should rise up to protest against such
practices:
PROFESSOR HALE OPPOSES WARFARE
IN THE PHILIPPINES.
CHICAGO, May A.-To the Editor: The
great news published yesterday morning
that The president believes it quite as
necessary to display spirit of Cancellation
to the Filipinos as to convince them of our
superior force Ga view of things which
was treason when spoken the other day in
Central Music hall, but is, of course, pa
triotism and craftsmanship when coming
from Mr.. Mckinley, makes other issue for
the moment seem unimportant A constant
reader of your paper, such as I have been,
could let past matters go for awhile, if you
yourself would let them go. But you do
not.
1t used to be thought the function of the
newspaper to give the news. Grave charges
almost too horrible to be credited, have
been made by privates and lower officers
in our army with regard to the methods
by which We are spreading the blessings of
civilization in the Philippines. 1t has not
been vouchsafed to your readers, and, in
general, it has not been vouchsafed to the
readers of other Chicago papers. to see these
charges, with the attendant particulars of
authorship and place of publication, which
alone could give them weight.
The Times Herald was for a long time
silent about them. Then, on a certain
Sunday, perhaps two weeks back it gave in
editorial few brief extracts from them,
speaking of them in tones of ridicule as
indefinite. which, if it means anything, ought
to mean anonymous. Various ridiculing ref
erences have since that time been made to
the same evidence. Your latest mention
is in the issue of Monday morning May %,
in which you say: Nov that the anti i'm
perialists have exhausted the three home
sick letters from Manila. furnished by
newspaper clipping bureau, the other side
of the situation as is told by the CORES
pondence of the soldier boys-officers and
privates-is finding it's way into print" l
wish very much that you might give us these
more Dheering letters. The more light that
we have upon this struggle the better. The
American people have right to know how
the war of humanity, begun in Cuba, has
been carried on in the Philippines.
l beg you, therefore, for the sake of a
large class of readers, who, l believe, do
net like to have their news censorized for
them, to print brief extracts from such let
tiers of what you call the home sick class
as have come under my observation. Let
me preface them, however by saying that
If we are to have our thinking done for us
Git is this, apparently, that constitutes the
up-to-date patriOt), we should like it done
with little more arrangement and con-
sistency. I might be able to accept the
theory offered by many of the newspapers
some time ago. that these letters were writ
ten by Filipino emissaries in order to work
upon the feelings of the citizens of the
United States. could accept second the
DRY that they are written by irresponsible
Americans, who want to call attention to
themselves
I could conceivably accept the theory that
they are the product of "home sickness"
could even more easily accept theory
which 1 believe I have the honor myself
to present, although it is surprising that
no '1oyalist" has yet thought of it, that
the author is that wicked Edward Atkinson,
of Boston, who actually sent perverting doc
uments to Dewey, Otis, our commissioners
at the Philippines. and newspaper cor
respondent But I am absolutely incapa-
BILE of accepting all of these explanations or
of shifting with sufficient rapidity from one
to another. AS for the numeral three"
which you apply to the letters, l am forced
to suppose that that is printers error.
The charges which, if true, have degraded
us for a generation from the rank of
civilized nation, are that, at one period of
the war, orders were given at several diff
ferent places to take no prisoners, or, as
the orders were interpreted, to have no pris-
oners after taking prisoners. 1 take from
the letters only such sentences as touch
most directly on this point. Let me note
that all the letters are from Republican
papers.
Kansas regiment, to his father, residing at
Remington, Kan, twelve miles from Min
neapolis, Kan. Letter printed in April, in
the Minneapolis Messenger:
Then occurred the hardest sight l ever
saw. They had four prisoners and didn't
know what to do with them. They asked
Captain Bishop what to do and he said,
You know the ORDERS and four natives fell
dead
Compare the letter of this same Captain
(now Major W. H. Bishop to his wife, dated
Caloocan battlefield, March l. 1899, pub
lished in the Republican Journal, of Salina,
Kan.
''The insurgents have not fired on us
since last night and 1 understand an at
tempt is being made to patch things up
my idea of the way is to kill the whole out
fit and blow the islands out of existence"
F. L. Poindexter, of the Second Oregon.
Portland Oregonian, May 4. The letter is
dated March 20:
"About dark, before company DIS return,
Colonel Summers rode over to General
Wheaton's headquarters. Shortly after
reaching there reports, which afterward
proved to be somewhat exaggerated, came
in that two companies of the 22nd infantry
had been literally cut to pieces, having fall
len into an ambush After a hasty con-
sultation it was decided to proceed at once
to kill or drive into the lake every native
possible to be found in the half-moon shaped
district lying between the mouth of the