The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-04-27
JEALOUS OF FUNSTON.

The following signed editorial is from
the Saturday Evening Post Of April ~:
Having accomplished the feat OF arms
which the gold-laced. highly trained
major generals have for two years been
steadily falling to accomplish, the cap
ture OF Aguinaldo. General Funston
must now prepare to have heaped upon
him by the war department the oppro-
brium which he deserves He must be
made to realize that although he cap
tured the head and front of what the
major generals studiously term the or
ganized opposition to the United States
forces" he did It in a manner which
violated most OF the regulations Of the
United States army. several Of the ar
ticles of war, and a variety Of the rules
which are learned at West Point.
But Funston. then a common volun-
teer-and from Kansas at that-broke
into this Philippine business without the
Invitation Of the adjutant generals and
major generals and other red tape ex-
perts who have been playing with it for
two years. and therefore he can hardly
be expected to know all the rules of the
game. Now that it is all over he doubt
less bitterly realizes what bad form he
displayed in his precipitate action in the
forest when he grabbed the 1.-THE insur-
gent chief around the waist and told
him to lie quiet or get hurt He did not
realize at that moment how very much
this rude action savored OF the arrest of
a disturber OF the peace by a common
policeman.
With Agrinaldo safe under lock and
key. the high-salaried and expertly
trained members OF the How Not to Do
1t club are verbose in then explanations
Of how that willy chieftain should have
been captured without doing violence to
the traditions of the army and of the
Infallible Red Tape Division of the gov
eminent service. When Funston learn
ed from a Filipino traitor at sunrise just
where Aguinaldo was he should have
shot the traitor at sunrise for being a
spy. Then, with a band and a few
regiments of troops he should have
moved grandly to a position a few miles
from Aguinaido's capital, and, should
any of the troops have been left after
the ambuscades they would have passed
through, he should have sent detach-
ment of them ahead under a white Rag
to tell Aguinaldo that the great Ameri-
can general was willing to grant him
an audience. Meanwhile he should have
cabled to the Infallible Red Tape Divis-
ion Of the government at Washington
to learn what terms he might offer the
After a wait Of two or three days dur
ing which Aguinaldo would have moved
a few hundred miles farther into the
country, the survivors of the white flag
detachment would have returned and
have had the honor to report that they
had failed to find Aguinaldo. Thus Cen
eral Funston, while he would not have
actually captured the chieftain, would
at least have shown proper respect for
the traditions and precedents Of the
army and could have returned with fly
ing flags to Manila.
But, with that blatant disregard of the
sacred COW known as the customs of
the service" which ever eharacterizes
the laundering volunteer officer, F'uns-
ton got the strange idea that the way
to end the insurrection was to capture
Aguinaldo, and that the way to capture
Aguinaldo was to go out and gethim-
FRANK x. FINNEGAN.