Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1900-09-05
A LETTER TO ROOSEVELT.
A PHILIPPINE Writes Him q Letter
About ST Paul Speech,


About st Paul Speech.
New York.-(speciaL)-The following
open letter to Governor Roosevelt
written by Sixto Lopez. who was for.
merly secretary to the Filipino CON-
mission in Washington, has just been
given out:
Dear Sir: I have read your remark
| able speech delivered recently at st.
Paul, Mimi, in which you charge the
Filipinos with being the precise anal
ogues' of the Boxers and Apaches and
our government with being a bloody
Aguinaldoan oligarchy.' Nothing ap.
peals to the best human emotions SC
much as the spectacle of a brave man
Permit me to say that ! cordially join
with the American people in admira-
ton of the chief Of the rough riders
but. while admiring your achievements
as soldier and fearless reformer. my
admiration ceases when you strike at
what I believe to be the truth. Indeed.
l am afraid that your brilliant career
may receive a check in the unequal
contest, for truth has never yet been
vancuished.
Il cannot believe that a gentleman
and soldier will make serious charges
against an opponent without being in
possession of absolute proof of his
| statements. Consequently II your
charges are true, must cease to be
champion Of the cause Of my people. II
they are false you ought to cease to be
the champion Of yours.
CHALLENGE TO THE GOVERNOR.
Therefore. in the name of my coun-
trymen, for whom you and your col
leagues have made such lavish profess
sion of friendship. 1 challenge you to
furnish proof Of your charges or else
withdraw them.
Let me draw your attention to the
| circumstances as we Filipinos view
them: You came to our country. You
call us Dear General Aguinaldo.' You
ask. accept and profit by our aid in
the defeat of your enemy. You deliver
Spanish prisoners over to or chaurge.
You place large number of your own
! sick and wounded practically in our
care.
when your enemy has been defeated
you turn upon us, shoot as down by
thousands, and when our resistance Ia
| greater than you anticipated you de-
clare that we are the precise anaioguef
of Boxers and Apaches, and him who
| you required his aid. you now refer
to as Bloody Aguinaldo.'
Honor bright, do you consider all
| this as consistent with the conduct of
a gentleman and a soldier? There Is
| only one escape. Prove your charges.
Look at it IN another light: You are
| powerful and wealthy. You can bring
to your task of determination the most
deadly weapons of so-called civilized
warfare. Your soldiers are well armed.
well fed. well quartered.
I'VE. on the contrary. are without
wealth and without a single field piece.
We have very few arms and inferior
ammunition. We have only such food
as our soldiers can find in forest and
mountain, and we have to live In
swamps and jungles. exposed to every
weather
CONTEST AN UNEQUAL ONE
1.-THE contest is thus fearfully unequal
but of this we have not complained.
Our Philippine mothers and sisters have
silenced the pang when an imperialist
shell or bullet has robbed them Of hus-
band, father or brother. We have
fought fairly: even your own officers
have admitted that we have conducted
the war fairly and in accordance with
the customs Of modern war.
"Yet, not content with having all ad.
vantages on your side. you would now
try to take from us our good name.
How pitiable, how inf1nitesimal!
"A brave man will always sympathize
with the smaller dog A worthy foe
man will be generous to his weaker op-
ponent. A gentleman and a soldier
will not heap dishonor upon his adver-
sary.
do you believe these mere truisms?
Then there is only one escape-prove
your charges.
Indeed, you ought to have proved
the charges when making them. Honor.
fair play. the generosity you should
have shown to a weaker opponent who
10 dOoCht, Oil ~ oSidiiLt tadt Ou6uL OukuL
to have given proof at the time But
let that pass. 1t is not too late even
now.
EVIL REPORTS ON BOTH SIDES.
'It will not. however, suffice to ap-
peal to imagination or assumption, to
rumor or unfounded reports. Such ru-
mors and reports cut both ways. There
have been as many evil reports against
the American soldier as against the
F1lipinos Your own commissioners ad-
NIT isolated occurrences are regret
table, indeed, but incident to every
war; but they do not feel called upon
to answer idle tales without foundation
IN fact"
TELEGRAPHIC BRIEFS.
Mid-roaders of Iowa met at Des