Evening star., 1901-03-28
GRATIFIED OFFICIALS
Continued from First Page.)

Agulnaldo, whether he Is to be tried. and
what punishment, If any, is to be meted
out to him. But there are certain general
principles which are said to be clearly
established. and the first question is asked
as to whether Aguinaldo Is to be tried as
a military or a civil offender. If he is to
be regarded as having committed treason
able acts, or fomented an insurrection
against the United States government,
then the trial would be Of civil charac-
ter, for these are political offenses against
the authority of the United States gov
ernment, and are not offenses under the
articles of war to be tried by a military
expected that the rigorous procedure for
treason would be adopted. If 1t should be,
section 1892 of the Revised Statutes pro-
vides that every person guilty Of treason
shall suffer death, or, at the discretion of
the court, shall be imprisoned at hard
labor for not less than five years, and fined
not less than $4,000.
Another section provides for melting in
surrection, short of actual treason, and
specifies the punishment as follows:
Every person who inctes, sets on foot,
assists, or engages in any rebellion or in
Surrect1on against the authority of the
United States shall be furnished
by Imprisonment not more than ten years,
or by fine of not more than $4,000, or by
both," etc.
The foregowing, however, are political
offenses against the authority of the
United States. 1t is presumed, however
that Asuinaldo will be held, for the present
at least, as a military prisoner. If tried
as such, it would be because he had Of
Tended against some of the articles of war;
Already there have been several trials of
Filipino officers for offenses against mill
~tary usage, such as brutality, but mill
tary tribunal will not take up the larger
political offense against the authority of
the United States. Article 154 of the regr-
lations governing armies in the field re-
cites:
Treating in the field the rebelIious enc
my, according to the law and usages of
war, has never prevented the legitimate
government from trying the leaders of the
rebellion or the chief rebels for high trea-
son and from treating them accordingly, un-
less they are included in a general am
neSty'
This article is referred to as showing
that the warfare in the Philippines has not
given Aguinaldo such strict military sta
tus as to relieve him from the higher and
graVer civil OffenSe of high treason At
the same time there is little belief that this
graver offense will lie charged the idea
being that he will ue held as a prisoner
without any definite determination of his
status and perhaps in time granted am
nesty on condition that he leave the coun-
try.
Aside from the punishment to be visited
upon him, the military regulations provide
for the manner in which he will be treat
ed while held as prisoner. These regu-
1attons are similar to those of the Ok
ford conference, and more recently those
made at The Hague conference. Some of
the main features are that the captured
officer must surrender his arms; the con-
flnement must be such as will insure safe
ty, but without Intentional suffering or in
dignity a prisoner who escapes may be
shot while in flight; paroles may be grant
ed on stated conditions; honorable men,
when captured, will abstain from giving
information concerning their own army
and violence is not to he used against pris-
oners to eXtort information.