Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1902-05-30

| ten themselves as 10 counsel and COM
| NIT In retaliation, acts Of cruelty The
| fact that for every guilty act COM
| mitted by one of our troops hundred
| acts Of far greater atrocity have been
| committed upon our troops, or upon
| the hostile natives upon our troops, or
| upon the peaceable and law-abiding
| natives who are friendly to u.s. can not
| be held to excuse any WrongdO 7
| on our side. Determined and unswerv-
| ing effort must be made. and is being
| made, to find out every instance Of bar
| barity on the part OF our troops, to
| punish those guilty Of IT, and to take, II
| possible, even stronger measures than
| have already been taken 20 minimize
or prevent the occurrence Of all such
instances IN the future.
THE SHAME or LYNCHINGs.
From time to time there occur in our
| country, 10 the deep and lasting shame
| OF our people, lynchings carried on UNI
| der circumstances Of inhuman cruelty
| and barbarity--a cruelty infinitely
worse than any that has ever been COM
mitted by our troops in the Philippines;
worse to the victims, and far more
| brutalzing TO those guilty of 1t. The
| men who fail TO condemn these lynch
| ings, and yet ClamOr about what has
been done in the Philippines, are in
| deed guilty of neglecting the beam In
| their own eye while haunting their
| brother about the mote In his. Under
stand me- These ynchings afford us
no excuse for failure TO stop cruelty in
| the Philippines Every effort Is being
made, and will be made, to minimize
chances Of cruelty occurring.
But keep IN mind that these cruelties
| In the Philippines have been wholly ex-
| ceptional, and have been shamelessly
exaggerated We deeply and bitterly
regret that any such cruelties should
have becn committed no matter how
rarely no matter under what provoca-
ton. by American troops But they af-
ford far less justification for general
condemnation OF our army than these
iynchngs afford for the condemnation
OF the communities in which they have
taken place. In each case II Is well
TO condlmn the deed. and II is well also
to refrbln from including both guilty
and innocent In the same sweeping con-
domination
BAD PEOPLE EVERYWHERE.
In every community there are people
who commit acts Of wellSnigh ineOn-
ceiyable horror and Daseness If we fix
our eyes only upon these individuals
and upon their acts. and If we forget
the far more numerous citizens Of up
right and honest life and blind our
selves to their countless deeds of wis
dom and justice and philanthropy, It Is
easy enough to condemn the com
munity, There ~ not city in this
land which We could not thus condemn
If we fixed our eyes purely upon It's po-
lice record and refused TO look at what
1t had accomplished for decency and
justice and charity. Yet this is exactly
the attitude which has been taken by
too many men with reference to our
army in the Philippines: and II Is an at
titude both absurd and cruelty unjust
RULES OF WARFARE.
The rules OF warfare which have been
promulgated by the war department
and accepted as the basis Of conduct by
our troops in the field are the rules laid
down by Abraham Lincoln when you,
my hearers, were fighting for the Union.
These rules provide OF course, for the
Just severity necessary In war. The
most destructive Of all forms OF cruelty
would be 10 show weakness where
sternness Is demanded by iron need
But all cruelty is forbidden, and all
harshness beyond what Is called for
by need. Our enemies in the Philip
pines have not merely violated every
rule Of war, but have made Of these
violations their only method Of carry
ing on the war. We would have been
justified by Abraham Lincoln's rules Of
war In Infinitely greater severity than
has been shown, rhe fact really Is
that our warfare in the Philippines has
been carried on with singular humanity.
For every act Of cruelty by our men
there have been innumcrable acts Of
forbearance, magnanimity, and gen.
erous kindness. These are the qualities |
which have characterized the war as
a whole. The crueltles have been Who'll |
ly exceptional on our part
GUILTY TO BIZ PUNISHED.
The guilty are TO be punished. but in |
Furnishing them. let those who sit at |
ease at home, who walk delicately |
and live in the soft places of |
the earth, remember also to do |
them common justice. Let not the |
effortless and the interrupted rail over |
much at strong men who with blood |
and sweat face years OF toll and days |
and nights OF agony and at need lay |
DOWN their lives In remote tropic jun |
giles TO bring the light Of civilization |
into the worlds dark places. The war
fare that has EXTENDED the boundaries |
Of civilization at the expense of bar |
barism and savagery has been for CEN
turtles one Of the most potent factors In |
the progress OF humanity. Yet from |
its very nature II has always and every |
where been liable TO dark abuses.
FALSE FRIENDS OF YoRE.
II behooves us TO keep n viglant |
watch TO prevent these abuses and TO |
punish those who commit them, but II |
because Of them we finch from finish |
Ing the task on which we have entered. |
we show ourselves cravens and weak |
lings, unworthy.of the sires from whose |
lolns We sprang. There were abuses |
and TO spare In the civil war Your
false friends then called Grant a
butcher and spoke OF you who are
listening to me as morcenarles, as LIN |
coins hirelings. Your open foes-as |
In the resolution passed by the Con-
federate congress IN October. iS62-ac- |
cused you, at great length. and with !,
much particularly. OF "contemptuous |
disregard OF the usages OF civilized |
war; OF subjectlng women and child |
rem TO Punishment, Imprisonment and |
death OF murder" Of "rapine." Of |
"outrages on women" Of 'lawless |
cruelty" OF ''perpetratlng atrocities |
which would be disgraceful to saw |
ages and Abraham Lincoln was sim