The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1900-05-10
STATE OF WAR IN PHILIPPINES.

The question of whether peace or war
to answer. If one accepts General otis
as authority the war has been over for
several months. or IL one listens to the
assurances of President Mckinley and of
Secretary Root the conviction is inevitable
that peace in the Philippines is so pro-
found that the white winged dove has
even concluded the archipelago a stupid
place in which TO abide.
Under ordinary circumstances either OF
these three optimistic romancers would be
regarded final authority. But the circum-
stances under which these invite public
confidence are most extraordinary.
AS "suppressor" of insurrections it
must be conceded that General Otis is a
most remarkable example of the aphotsm
in reversal that truth is stronger than
fiction. Tho fiction is that the insurrec-
tion is in state OF suppression" while
| meekly the country Is told of the slaugh-
ter OF Filipino bands and the killing of
American soldiers. The country is in fact
so stupid, and this is no doubt especially
annoying to General Otis and his compa-
triots of the official eoterie at Washing
ton. that it can not believe in "suSbres-
sion" which appears to have largely in
creased the percentage of casualty and
death to American soldiers beyond any
rate that has previously existed since our
troops took UP their quarters in Manila
and proceeded to draw a bristling Gordon
of steel around the island OF Luzon. The
truth is that more than year ago when
this Otisian descendant OF the esteemed
| Munchausen first informed his admlrlng
countrymen that the "insurrection" had
been Suppressed" there were but 10000
American soldiers in the Philippines, Since
the suppression" comedy was first enact
ed more than another 10000 American
soldiers have been sent to the scene of the
suppressed insurrcctlon,"
II all this military activity and concen-
tratlon of troops, all this tremendous ex-
penditure of National treasure and young
American life has resulted in Sup
pressed Instruction" what would have
been the terrible consequence OF real,
live affair that even the genius of General
Otis could not have Suppressed"
But while we have Otis and his official
hackers in Washington actively sup
pressing" the resurrection in the Philip
pines We have the evidence OF a decision
from Judge Advocate General Lleher, sus-
tanned by the action of Otis himself, that
"a state of war" obtains in that quar-
| ter
Three officers OF the army have recently
been sentenced by court MARTIAL 70 dis
missal from the service in disgrace. The
findings were sent to General Otis. II a
state of peace existed in the Philippines
General Otis under army regulations had no
option save to send them to the secretary
of war, whose duty IL was 10 submit
them to the president for final action.
| This General Otis did not do. lie approved
the findings of the court martial and dis
missed the offending officers. If war ex-
listed General Otis acted within his au.
thority II not he violated the regulations
and was amenable to punishment. It was
an awkward dilemma. The only way out of
it was to convict General Otis OF being 8
hctIonst This the judge advocate general
has done. His task was an easy one.
! 1t is well. The public mind Is nov
set at rest. The insurreetion has not been
suppressed" General OTIS has been sim.
ply INDUCING pipe dream" It is le-
gally determined TO help the administra-
ton out OF a perplexing situation that Is
state OF war" exists in the Philippines
In this way the real truth has been de.
elared.