The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-05-30

| MN EoocN I1Al4TI, OI Ine InlCdSO
I[) university, recently published an
! ~ Atkinsonian open letter denounc
III inc the government at Washing
| u ton and soldering over Aguinaldo.
| To this woman Of Chicago, Mrs. Flora
| Bennett, makes vigorous reply in part
as follows: II am not learned profess
| sor. l am simply an American woman.
l do not try to analyze my feelings of
| loyalty to my country Decatur's creed
| OF loyalty: Our country. May she ever
| be right. But, right or wrong, our
| country! has been enough for my father,
my husband and fer me. My father,
| my husband and my brothers fought Ill
the Union armies during the civil war.
| have always believed that the way to
deal with rebellion is to crush ii. When
| the rebels lay down tEeir arms and sub
| NIT then they may be granted mercy.
| But men who are so base or so mis-
guided as to rebel against the best gov
ernment on earth deserve no sympathy
so long as they continue in their rebel
| lion. Some of my near relatives, am
| sorry to say, were on the wrong side dur
ing the civil war. They lost homes and
| fortunes and some of them their lives.
They got just what they deserved.
-.o:-
| Professor Hale is greatly disturbed
over the sufferings of the Filipinos lie
| accuses our soldiers of causing the war
and of the massacre of prisoners. He is
| Wllllully Dllnu 10 I0G 1dctS OF the case.
| lie also permits his maudlin sympathy
with lot of treacherous savages to
| overcome the sympathy which he should
| give to American soldiers and their
mothers. The Filipinos began the war.
Agulnaldo woull never have had
chance If Dewey had not smashed the
Spanish fleet. Then that double traitor
turned and bit the hand that fed him.
Personally I feel that when Aguinaldo
Is caught he ought to be hanged to the
nearest tree. But a great nation can
afford to temper justice with mercy.
Professor Hale enlarges on the alleged
! inhumanity of our army in the Philip
pines. The only trouble is that we were
too forbearlLg and too merciful at the
| start 1t is quite probable that there
have been executions of rebels caught in
open violation of the laws of war. Sum-
mary executions in such cases are often
necessary and entirely justifiable. They
are of necessity more frequent in dealing
| with a savage and treacherous foe. That
the FilipnoS are both savage and treach-
erous the whole history of the war
| proves The conflict began after months
of submission on our part to insult and
| Injury. 1t began with an attack upon
our outposts by body of Filipinos whose
commander had promised in writing
only two days before to cease his inso-
lent meddling. Flags of truce have re-
peatedly been used 20 mask hostile
movements. Inc TeDelS nave SySte1na-
tically taken the Red Cross flag as a
target. In the first days of the rebel
lion Sergeant Harry Young was captured
by the Filipinos mutilated and murdered
Original orders issued by the rebel
leaders, directing the burning of Manila
and the massacre of all the European in
habitants, without respect to age or SEX
are in the hands of the American au-
thoritieS and have been repeatedly pub
llshed. In his great sympathy for the
oppressed F'ilipinos' Professor Hale
carefully ignores these diabolcal orders
| -:o:-
Proceeding thence to locate the respon-
sibiity for this Filipino rebellion, Mrs.
| Bennett says: "Can anyone in his
senses doubt where it lies, and whose
was the crime? In the course of our just
and lawful war with Spain Dewey
smashed the Spanish power in the Philip
pines. By all principles of international
law we then and there, on May l. 1895,
stepped into the shoes of Spain and Were
compelled to assume the protection of
neutrals, non-combatants and their
property. The treaty of Paris was
made in the only terms which the case
admitted, for / will not argue with those
who say We should have returned the
islands to Spanish despotism. If the
treaty had been promptly ratified there
would have been no moro than q few
riots in the Philippines, and probably not
even that. There is no evidence that
we would have had any more trouble in
taking over the sovereignty OF the Phil
ippines than we had in taking over that
OF Cuba. But the treaty was not prompt
ly ratified. The political hucksters in
and out of the senate must needs med
die and delay. They were warned of the
danger. They said they hoped the warn
ing would prove true, and wished that
the Filipinos would fight They in
trigued with the Tagal adventurers who
were heading the opposition to the
United States. They betrayed their
country and caused the death of many
of their countrymen-and for what? To
show their power to serve their selfish
political ends, to revenge their failure
to obtain desired spoils of office. Some
honest fanatics aided these miserable
intrguers with their bowling about
consent of the governed-a fine and
good political maxim when applicable.
but not pertinent to the case IN hand,
and disregaTded by Jefferson, its maker,
when in the case of Louisiana common
sense told him it was not applicable.
-:o:-
"The plotters in the senate and out ac-
complished their intended crime. The
Hoars and Hales and Masons and Cor
mans-the honest crSrks. the malignant
cTanks, the blatherskites who howl ed
for war and then howled anew at the
inevitable consequences of war, and :he
! base pOlltlcul lntTlSuefS ulu tnelr IOui
work. The rebellion they desired be-
gan. The soldiers whom they willfully
put into jeopardy fell beneath the enc
my's bullets. The brave and honest
American boys at Manila had then not
only the savage foe in front TO meet
but also had to suffer from the fire Of the
copperheads at home. i lived In south
ern Indiana during our civil war, knew
the knights of the Golden Circle and
have had experience of the political rep,
tile known as the copperhead. There
fore say, In the name OF all American
mothers and wives and in the sight OF
God, that the responsibility for this war
Is upon the Hoars the Hales, the Ma
sons, the Germans, the Bryans, the At
kinsons, the Won Holsts, the Burritt
Smiths and their colleague copperheads.
Upon the heads of these men is the blood
OF every American boy killed at Manila
, since the flag of Spain came down. The
curse of every American wife who has
lost or shall lose her husband, of every
American mother who has lost or shall