Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-04-26
CRUELTiES OF FlLlPlNOS
DISCLOSED IN RECORDS OF MILL
TARY COMMISSIONS.
Findings DisapprOvcd in Two Murder
Cases by Gen. observation-disclosures
ing Authority's Comments.

The latest Philippine mail brought the
records of the proceedings in number oil
cases disposed of by military commissions
in the. islands The accused were all ma
tiyes and the charges for the most part
were murder. robbery and arson. Some OF
the cases are especially interesting because
of the unusual measure of cruelty attached
to the crimes. and others because OF toe
comments which General Macarthur, the
reviewing authority, made upon the Tno-
inCs of the commissions In two cases
where murder was the charge and a sca-
tence of death imposed General Macarthur
disapproved the findings of the commissions
and ordered the prisoners set at liberty. In
one case a native was robbed. forcibly car
ried away from his home, bound with rope
and thrown to his death into a river. Two
natives Were on trial to answer for his
DEATH and the military commission winch
tried them acquitted one. but sentenced the
other to be hanged. In reviewing this case
General Macarthur pointed out that the
facts alleged against each of the accused
were identical, and, finding no adequate
reason why the convicted native should
not be acquitted also, set him at liberty.
Accused Set at Liberty.
Eulalio Fernandez was charged with
knitting another native and the commission
sentenced him to death. In this case Cen
eral Macarthur found that facts necessary
to make out a felonious killing were not
available and that the evidence In favor of
justifiable homicide consistent with the
probabilities of innocence. ITO hold this ac-
cused guilty of murder" says General Mac
Arthur, under the conditions presented in
this case when it is Il notorious fact that
murderous bands are industriously kidnap-
ing assaSsinating and even burying alive
their countrynen, is to make the law blind
to the actual conditions prevailing here
and thereby diStOrt it's true spirit of pro-
lection of the lives of just men into writ
ten code so iniexibIe and blind as to make
it an engine of wrong" The accused was
set at liberty
Twenty Years With Hard Labor.
One ToroneS was charged with being a
member of a band of F'ilipinos who burned
no less than 10 dwelling houses in the
barrio of Napnapan. Iloilo province, with
no other apparent motive than mere wan
tonness and a desire to terrorize the
munity He was sentenced to confinement
at hard labor for twenty years, and the
sentence was approved
A of unusual cruelty was that in
which native ruthlessly hacked a Spanish
prisoner to death with a bOlO, because the
latter had asked to be excused from per-
forming menlal duty during holiday.
The military commission which tried this
case sentenced the native to be confined at
hard labor for the rest of his life at a place
beyond the limits of the Filipino archi-
pelago, the reviewing authority may di-
rect" In his review Gen. Macarthur called
attention to the fact that the commission
had gone beyond it's judicial functions in
designating the place for the execution of
the sentence, and selected the preside Of
Manila as the place of confinement for the
prisoner.
A native charged with violation of his
oath of allegiance to the United States was
tried by commission, and Gen MacAr-
thur approved a sentence of ten years i'm
prisonment at hard labor.