The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-10-23
.FILIPINOS' CRUELTY
OF PHILIPPINE COURTS
MARTIAL
MANY SENTENCED TO HANG
Sentences Are All Approved by the
War Department-One Amer
lean Is Among the
Number.

WASHINGTON, Oct 22.-The records
in twenty court-martial cases, wherein
| the charge was murder, have been re-
ceived at the war department. from the
headquarters of the division of the Phil
ippines. In the majority of the cases
sentences of death by hanging were inn
posed and approved. All of them bore
features of unusual barbarity and cruel
ty, in some so marked as to warrant
special mention. In one of the latter five
natives members of an armed band of
outlaws, entered the home of a native
named Ragudo, seized and bound his son,
hanged him up by a rope and tied his
father and mother by their elbows to a
rafter. They then demanded money of
the captives and the forthcoming amount
not being deemed sufficient they sat
urated his clothing with oil and set it
afire. For two hours the torture was
continued, blows from the butts of rifles,
flats of boloS and fists being rained on
the helpless captive while to add to his
suffering his young daughter was struck
down by blow from bolo in her head.
''It is difficult to believe" says Gen.
Chaffee in his review of this case, that
human deprarity and human degeneracy
can sink to such depths as shown in this
fendish crime
Ragudo fingered in agony from the eff
fects of his torture for five days and
then died. All five OF the natives were
sentenced to death.
Two American soldiers, Privates
Charles R. White and Thomas H. Mathis,
both of Company H, Fourth infantry,
had been captured by the insurgents.
They finally passed under the charge of
Esteban San Juan. a colonel of in
surgents and the ranking officer in the
vicinity of Cavite. He had them bound
to trees and Strangled to death with
cords.
FILIPINOs NOT ALONE.
From the records in one of the cases,
IL would appear that depravity in the
Philippines is not confined to the Fill
rinos. Harry Cline, employed as a team
ster by the United States army, while
stationed at Paranaque, P l., took a
bicycle ride into the country one day
and came upon four small native boys
gathering grass. with no other ap-
parent motive than natural depravity,''
says Gen. Chaffee, he proceeded to
shoot these boys with his revolver,
wounding three and killing the fourth. y
He was sentenced to be hanged.
Perhaps the most interesting case re-
ported was that of Francisco Peralta.
who was a leader of an armed band of
men living within the lines of the United
states forces near the province of Union
This band, wI44le wearing in the day.
time the ordinary native dress and seem
ingly following native occupations. spent
the night in numbering those of their
own race who were thought to be friend
ly to the Americans. Gen. Chaffee, in ap-
| proving the sentence of death imposed
upon Peralta, made the point that Per-
alta was to be hanged, not because he
was spy, but because he had caused
wanton murder to be done. Even
though a whole people deliberately
adopts method Of waging war contrary
to the recognized laws of war; he said
those laws. following the enlightened
and humane sentiments of the most CIV
| ilized nations do not sanction that a
sentence of determination shall issue
against a whole people,