The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1901-05-11
SLAUGHTER OF THE FlL1P1Nos.

LII ttll tlteEVlcW Will u 1eptCSCAlh
tive of the New York Times at Wash
ington, Brigadier General Bell, who
has recently returned from the Phi,
ippines, declared that one-sixth of the
natives of Luzon have been ushered
I into eternity during the past two years
by the benevolent assimilation" of
William Mckinley. They were not all
killed in warfare, as may be inferred
from his language when he says: The
loss Of life by killing alone has been
very great, but think that not one
man has been slain, except where his
death served the legitimate purposes
Of war. 1t has been necessary to
adopt what in other countries would
probably he thought harsh measures,
for the Filipino is tricky and crafty
and has to be fought in his own way"
In other words, the American SOL
diers killed Filipino non-combatants,
and THIS returned warrior is not
ashamed to avow it publicly. or
course, the boys in khaki obeyed the
military instructions referred to by
Balfour in the British parliament at
the beginning Of this year when he
was apologizing for British atrocities
on the Beers. He held in his hand the
American military regulations en-
forced in the Philippines and said
Roberts and Kitchener were following
precedent in burning, looting and kill
ing in South Africa. Who would have
thought few short years ago that
British statesman would Justify the
acts of the imperial soldiers of Eng
land by saying that the imperial SOL
diers of America had set the example?
And yet the imperial president in his
speech in Texas the other day proudly
proclaimed that the American soldiers
had added lustre to the flag in foreign
lands!
The war of conquest in which Presi-
dent Mckinley is engaged has been
costly to the American people as well
as to the victims of his rapacity. The
Irish World in recent article refers
to our loss as follows:
For more than two years we have
been shipping to the Philippines the
flower of the youth Of the land and
bringing back cargoes Of collins con-
tanning the mortal remains Of Ameri-
oon vourr ,oo,o uyho coorif3ood fhoir
lives IN the attempt to force political
servitude upon people who are seek
ing to enjoy the blessings of liberty.
The Philippine war is the saddest and
at the same time the most disgraceful
chapter in our history. 1t was begun
and was continued in open and flag
rant violation of the great principles
set forth in our Declaration Of indie
pendence. The future historian, when
he comes to write of it, will be. forced
to characterize it as an act of apostacy
from the teachings of the founder Of
the republic.
Every rifle shot fired in this unholy
war, unlike the shot fired at Concord
and "heard round the world" was a
notification to mankind that human
rights, as human rights, possessed no
sacredness in the estimation Of the
countrymen of Washington and Jeffer-
son. The human holocaust offered to
Imperialism in those far away Pacific
islands should of itself damn the un-
American policy 1naugurated by the
Mckinley administration. Here are
the details of this human sacrifice in a
most unjust cause:
AAAAeu. ................ l4l
Died Of wounds and accidents. 475
Died of disease. 1887
Total deaths. ,,.. aHa
WOuuueu. .Z,652
Grand total. .................6 .2o5
! These figures by no means represent