The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-11-24
PARTING SHOT.
Gen. Funston Gives Out De-
tailed Statement.
Says Two Filipino Prisoners
Were Shot by Privates.
CALLAHAN is ACCUSED
Asserts That He Saw But Lit
tie of the Fighting.
Little General Says He Swan
the Bag Bag.

San Francisco. Nov. 24.-The Exami-
ner says:
The accusation that Colonel Wilder s.
Metcaf of the Twentieth Kansas reg1-
ment deliberately killed an unarmed
Filipino prisoner during the Philippine
campaigns has resulted in the disclos-
ure that two surrendered Filipinos were
shot by Kansas men at CalOOcan, that
a war department investigation was
held, and that the men involved includ-
ing Captains Bishop of company M anu
F1ander of company 1, were eXculpated
from blame
General Frederick Funston, who left
today for the Philippines, has been
staunch defender of Col Metcaf and
reiterates his charge that five officers of
the Kansas regiment were guilty Of
coWardice during the fighting from Ma
Mia to San Fernando. The Kansas
general announces that in his opinion
former Lieut.. w. A Callahan of COM
pany G is one of the men.
From Topeka, Kan, comes an afHda-
Wit from Private Donald Thorn of the
Twentieth Kansas, in which he sWears
that he saw Captain Bishop OF company
NJ fire three shots into the bodies of two
prisoners, one of whom was wounded,
who were lying helpless on the ground
in the rear of the American firing line.
Gen. Funston says:
callahan missed nearly all the fight
ing in which the regiment took part. He
sustained a slight flesh wound in the
lay behind shelter in the trenches at
Caloocan. He went back to the hOspi-
tai at Manila and stayed there more
than a month, then returned to the reg
iment late in March, just before the
advance upon MalOlOS. We had six
days of continuous fighting there, but
Callahan went back to Manila after the
second days fight and said he had
kidney trouble. He stayed in Manila
for three months.
callahan says he was in the battle
of GuiguintO. He was 80 miles from
there. At no time at the battle of
GuiguintO did I lie down except once,
and that for ten seconds under espec-
tally furious fire from the enemy. Then
I was careful to see that every other
officer and man was under cover before
I dropped.
Hardy, Drysdale and Wiley did
swim the MarilaO river and I never
claimed credit for it.
"Callahan's statement as to the Rio
Grande affair is absurd. White and
Trembly did swim the river and hitched
the rope by which the raft was hand
led. I crossed with eight men first, and
in all 45 men were taken over We
drove out $500 insurgents, using 200
rounds of ammunition TO a man during
the half hours fighting. Gen. MacAr-
thur and Gen. Wheaton We're eye wit
nesses to that figfht. They were stand
ing at a freight house 500 yards away
on the south bank of the river. It was
upon their report of that affair that I
was made a brigadier general. Bass of
the New York Herald and McCutcheOn
of the Chicago Record cabled the stor-
ies of the engagement.
AT Bagbag river Lieut.. Ball, myself
and four enlisted men swan the river
under a fierce fire and we took the in
trenchments. Gen. Wheaton saw that,
and every man who took part was rec
ommended for a medal of honor. !
Il defy anyone to prove that I have
ever used money or any other means
to influence any newspaper man to ad-
+fcrr.
my employ. either directly or indirectly
The newspaper correspondents in the
Philippines We're men of honesty and
great personal courage. Bass, Creel-
man, McCrutheOn, Franklin, Brooks,
Jones, Keene and many others took as
many risks as any soldier on the firing
line. Gen. Macarthur had great trou-
BILE in trying to keep them back.
But I am not through with this af-
fair yet. I know the charges against
Metcalf and Bishop are despicabIe and
malicious lies. And 1 intend to prove
them such.
4 carry back with me to Manila a
copy of Donald ThOrns affidavit in
which he accuses Capt. Bishop of
enptying his revolver into the bodies
of two wounded Filipinos. He says this
occurred in the rear of H company.
Now H company occupied the center of
the line on February 10 at the battle
of CaloOcan and Bishop was never near
there at all. He was with company [
at the extreme right OF the line.
THE investigation had at the time
shows that two enlisted men Oh com
pany I, whose names are in the records
at Washington, shot two Filipino pris-
oners under misrepresentation of or
ders.
THE facts were all brought out in an
inquiry, which was held at San Fer
nando by Major J. S Mallory, chief
inspector of the second division on
General MacArthur's staff. His report
which [ saw two weeks afterwards at
General MacArthur's headquarters,
tells the story truthfully and thorough
ly. Major Mallory is an old army Off
Ger. He went at his work without fear
or favor He could not have been inf1u-
enced one way or the other and it is
absurd on the very face of it, under
such circumstances, to suppose that L,
or any other volunteer officer, could step
in tie way Of such an inquiry.
More than twenty officers and 200
men of the regiment We're separately
and individually examined by Major
Mallory, whose report is now on file
with the war department at Washing
ton. Indeed. so rigidly did he conduct
the investigation that I felt he was go
ing a little beyond the bounds of mill
tary inquiry. I thought he was show
ing undue zeal in his work, ana I SO
stated to General Macarthur.
Major Mallory'S report showed that
these two Filipinos had been shot by
two enlisted men of the Kansas regi-
Tnent at CaloOcan on February TO- They
We're killed during the hand to hand
fight which took place at the trenches
within 200 yards of the church. These
FiliDinOs had surrendered to Captain
Flanders of Company I, who ordered
two of his men to take the prisoners
to the rear The Filipinos refused to
so and went down on their knees. beg
sing and geSticulating. Captain F1a1d-
ers had gone forward with his company
and while this was going on 1 had sent
Captain Bishop Of Company NJ over to
see why Company was not keeping