Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1899-09-18
OTIS MILITARIsM EXPOSED.
Continued from Second page.

ant movements, beginning with the
J advance from La Iona church in
March, had been to rorSd up and cap
ture or force the surrender of various
divisions of the Filipino army. that all
| OF them had failed 20 accomplish this.
yet we had been Obliged to represent
that Otis was accomplishing just
what he intended and winning a Sc
ries of glorious successes and admin
istering no end of final crushing blows.
"Otis is hard man to argue with or
to pin down 10 any definite PROPOSE
ton, and his explanation of the fail
ure of Halls expedition the first week
in June was characteristic. He said:
But how couIu we capture them when
| they were not there? They all got
| out the night before we sarted, and
| there were not 1000, we found, but
only GO0.'
| We rehearsed in detail the objec-
| tions TO the censorship which 1 have
outlined in the beginning of this letter.
| There was no question of the fact
| that he had not allowed us to send full
| reports of the conditions here unless
those reports were reflections OF his
own views We asked that when
there were different views held by
people whose opinions were worthy of
! consideration, we should be allowed to
explain the various views and phases
of the question, instead of echoing his
opinions as though they were rock-rib-
bed and unimpeachable facts.
Davis said: When l returned to
Manila | asked what I would be per-
mitted to send, and you told me all
facts, news about military operations
not helpful to the enemy, and my opin-
ions as opinions All of the commit
tee agreed that the fulfillment of that
rule would be satisfactory, and I dis
claimed any desire to send my person
al opinions for the Associated Press.
Gen. Bates was present throughout the
interview At the close Gen. Otis
turned to him and asked: what
J would you do with these gentlemen,
I general?'
Bates promptly replied: I would
do what l said.
'Court-martial them?' Otis asked.
Gen. Bates Favors Writers.
mo, let them send what you prom.
Used, the facts, and opinions as opin.
ions Bates said.
THE next morning Otis sent foI
Davis and tried to talk him over.
Among ether things he complained
that he did not clearly understand
him a chance to establish a reasonable
censorship We sent another committee
with a written request that We ha o.
lowed to send all facts not useful to
the enemy and describe the different
views of the situation when it was
open to differences of opinion. The
committee thrashed over THE same
ground several hours. and the result
was a statement in effect that We
might send anything which in his opin-
ion was not prejudicial to the inter
ests of the United States
That did not change our position in
the least because he had always con-
strued as damaging to the government
any story tending to carry the small
est inference that his acts and policies
were not entirely successful and in
dorsed by the whole army. He also
appointed a new censor, although we
had told him that would not be the
slightest relief unless the system was
changed, and he promised to keep the
censor fully posted On all events, an
arrangement which he has not carried
into execution
There were Two or three days of
improvement and greater liberality in
the censorship. then il dropped into
the old rut. One of our complaints
had been that Otis himself was prac-
tically the censor, that whenever we
presented stories which the censor had
doubts concerning the policy Of or
dealing with matters he was Ignorant
of. he would send us to Otis and we
often wasted hours waiting in an ante
room and then perhaps were unable
TO secure an audience. We asked him
To give the censor exclusive jurisdic-
ton in the field and keep him posted
or all events. giving him access to Of
fetal reports from the front. This. |
he declared. would be impossible
Therefore we sent the telegram.
Some of Otis Reports Stifled.
Gen. Otis had complained of the
language as an accusation of deliber- ,
ate falsehood. We assured him We I,
had no intention of conveying the idea |
that he had reported to Washington !
anything he did not believe to be true, !
and we softened the language to avoid /
the possibility OF any such construc- !
ton. He also said that the war de- |
partment had made public only the |
more optimistic OF his reports. and we /
amended the dispatch TO make plain
thai We referred only TO those reports