The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1901-05-01
Funston and the SwiveI-Chair Soldiers.

In some regular army circles, and
particularly IN the cflice Of the adju-
tant general at Washington, an at
tempt is made to cheaper General Fun
ston's exploit in the capture of Aguin-
aldo. Under the above title Crank
x. Finnegan," writing in the Saturday
Evening Post, takes this view of the
matter:
taving accomplished the feat OF
arms which the eold-laced, hignly-
trained major generals have for two
years been steadily failing to accom-
plish the capture Of Aguinaldo, Gen
eral Funston must now prepare TO have
heaped upon him by the war depart
ment the opprobrium which be de.
serves. He must be made to realize
that although he captured the head and
front of what the major-generals stu
diously term "the organized opposition
to the United States forces" he did it
in manner which violated most of the
regulations of the United States army,
several of the articles of war, and va
riety of the rules which are learned at
West Point.
But Funston, then common VOL
unteer-and' from Kansas at that
broke into this Philippine business
without the invitation of the adjutant-
generals and heterogeneous and other
red-tape experts who have been play
ing with it tor two years, and therefore
he can hardly be expected to know all
the rules of the game. Now that it is
all over he doubtless bitterly realizes
what bad form he displayed in his pre-
clip, tate action in The forest when he
grabbed the 1.-the insurgent 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 q
disturber Of the peace by common
policemen.
With Aguinaldo safe under lock and
key, the high salaried and expertly
trained members OF the How Not to Do
1t Club are verbose in their explana-
tions of how that willy chieftain should
have been captured without doing VIC
| lence to the traditions of the Army and
the Infallible Red Tape Division of the
Government service. When Funston
learned from Filipino traitor just
where Aguinaldo was he should have
shot the traitor at sunrise for being a
spy. Then, with band and few
regiments of troops he should have
moved grandly to position few miles
from Aguinaldo's capital, and, should
any of the troops have been left
! after the ambuscades they would have
passed through, he should have sent a
detachment of them ahead under a
white flag to tell Aguinaldo that the
great American general was willing to
grant him an audience. Meanwhile he
should have cabled to the Infallible
Red Tape Division Of the Government
at Washington to learn what terms
a; he might offer the insurgent chief when
he surrendered. After wait of two or
three days, during which Aguinaldo
would have moved few hundred miles
farther into the country, the survivors of
! the white flag detachment would have
had the honor to report that they had
failed to find Aguinaldo. Thus Gen
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 character
ICES the laundering volunteer officer,
Funston got the strange idea that the
way to end the instruction was to cap
ture Aguinaldo, and that the way to
capture Aguinaldo was to go out and
| get him.