The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1902-08-01
A TALE OF
TWO HEMlSPHERES
From the New York Tribune.

From the New York Tribune.
n H1DsUMMER of 1901, the time; the
INI the mountain Businesses of Samar
the place. A struggling line OF
emaciated men comes tumbling
down the stony bed of dried up noun
tain stream. Their uniforms are In tat
ters, their shoes gone. With bleeding
feet and bloodshot eyes. they emerge
from the depths of the forest The air
is that of Il furnace. Not a leaf Is stir
ring. Before them morass baking In
the fierce rays of the MONDAY sun. Be-
yond the blue sea lazily tapping a stretch
of sandy beach. The atmosphere seems
to vibrate. and the maismatic stenches
of decaying matter sap the ebbing
strength of that handful of men.
For weeks they have crossed mountain
ranges, following trails lined with poi
soned spears and dotted by bamboo pitt
falls. Foot by foot they have cut their
way through trackless jungle. For days
they have subsisted on nothing but what
the forest fiirnished-leaves and bark.
They have carried their sick and wound-
ed along as best they could. Their
tongues are parched. their skins burning
with an all-consuming fever. Their hands
run with blood from contact with count
less thorns their bodies are covered with
fostering sores, upon which slimy leeches
feed. The brain is In whirl and every
nerve seems shattered. The least noise
the flutter of parrot In the branches.
the mocking cry of monkey squatted
in the shade of a palm, the rustic of a
harmless lizard amid the tall grass OF the
opening-causes an excruciating tension
of the nerves and the agonizing collapse
after 1t is all over
And so they march-no, drag them
selves along--brooding; brooding over
comrades whose bones lie bleaching In
the forest, waylaid, murdered and multi
ated; brooding over others disembowelled,
stabbed in the back, while helpless. by
women and children; brooding over
others still with throats cut amid the
fumes of poisonous drugs or In the sleep
produced by narcotics brooding over
luckless ones, fallen wounded into the
hands of the enemy, buried alive or
strangled; broodlng over tortures which
only the refined cruelty Of savage could
devise; brooding over the life they lead
at forty odd cents day, and what the
future has in store for them. 1t Is the
story of score of expeditions in the
Philippines; the story of the guides
treachery, Of the ambush, of the superb
stand made by the soldiers, of the rout
of the enemy, of the drum-head court
martial and the vengeance, swift ana
summary, taken upon those found guilty.
In the frenzy of that moment the tradl-
tions of a lifetime are cast to the winds.
and the boasted civilization of centuries
Is shown to have sunk but skin deep.
War indeed " is hell"
A change of scene. The porch of a
cottage overlooking the placid waters OF
a beautiful lake. Behind the mountains
which inclose 1t on every side the moon
is just rising. Its rays strike the ripples
and cause them to break Into myriads or
soft lights. A cool breeze, laden with the
q .t,.@ 1nry
the mountain tops. Now and then the
splash of an oar, the soft laughter of a
woman's voice, the strain of music In the
distance, interrupts the peaceful quiet.
Far from the maddening crowd" the
storm and stress of the outside world
are here forgot; the meanness and rivalry
of the struggle for existence find here
no Judgement. In the midst OF one or
natures loveiest spots, indeed, could
aught reign but peace and goodwill to-
ward men? In the presence of such re-
pose and loveliness could bitterness and
malice overcome the better instincts Of
the soul?
A group of men in earnest conversation
on the porch. They have evidently just
left the table. Reclining in easy chairs.
in faultess evening attire, they enjoy the
fragrance of their Havanas. The aroma
of Mocha is in the air. Through the
half-opened door you look into bril-
liantly lighted room where ladies In even
ing toilets sit conversing. The sound OF
a piano breaks in occasionally upon the
hum of conversation and stills the gay
laughter of a group of children. On the
porch the discussion continues; In fact,
wakes warm. Decentralization of the Of
ficers and soldiers of our army in the
Phiippines'-"Th testimony of repre-
sentative F'ilipnos jealousy and sys-
tematically suppressed d'-"Judicial and
impartial examination on the spot de-
nied".-"Adding cant and hypocrisy to
truelty"-"A general recently promoted
for the capture and killing of those
whose bread and salt he, starving, had
just begged and eaten"-"Processes of
medieval inquisition Of
the mockery'-"Order to kill those
wounded in confict"-"Depth of the gen.
eral demoralization'-."A menda-
city"-these and others are among the
phrases which are being rolled, like
sweet morsels, under the tongue of one
of the men in the group. He reads from
a paper, and as he concludes there are
signs of enthusiastic approval. "A
crusher," says one. 1T will set them
thinking. remarks another, lighting a
fresh cigar. (Price: the days pay of a
ourselves are responsible persons needs
scarcely to be alleged, much less proven
chimes In third. unctuously. as he
pours out another brandy. 1.-The biggest
political card yet'-is the universal judg-
ment Down with imperialism" And
then there is quiet chuckle.
The hyena. 1t is said, prows among the
wounded abandoned on the battlefield.
What rubbish though. Around that cot
tage no battle has ever ragged, and
hyenas never roamed on the shores Of
Lake George.