The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1902-06-10
ROOSEVELT IN
DEFENSE OF ARMY

WASHINGTON, May 3O--In a stirring
speech to the Civil war veterans at the
Memorial Day services in Arlington Gene
terry today President Roosevelt made
vigorous defense of the army I'm the Phil
ippines, denouncing those who been at
lacking it for alleged cruelties. Com
plimenting the Civil war veterans on their
part in that struggle, the President called
attention to the valiant service OF the
army in the Philippines.
These younger comrades" said Roose-
welt, 'of yours have fought under ter
rble difficulties and have received terrible
proyocation from a very cruel and very
treacherous enemy. Under the strain OF
these provocations 1 deeply deplore to say
that some among them have so far for
gotten themselves as to counsel and com
init, in retaliation, acts OF cruelty. The
fact that for every guilty act committed
by one of our troops hundred acts of
far greater atrocity have been commit
ted by the hostile natives upon our
troops, or upon the peaceable and law
abiding natives who are friendly to us,
cannot be held to excuse any wrong
doer on our side
! The President said that the Crueltes
| in the islands had been shamelessly cN-
aggerated. and referred also to the lynch
ings in the United States, which had fail
ed OF the same general condemnation by
the men now crying down the army in
the Philippines
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 hear
ers, were fighting for the Union" Roose-
welt told the veterans. These rules pro-
vide. of course for the just severity
necessary in war, The most destructive
OF all forms Of cruelty would be to show
weakness where stcrnrcss Is demanded
by iron need. But all cruelty is forbid
den. and all harshness beyond what is
called for by need.
THO guilty are to be punish'd d; hut in
Furnishing them let those who sit at ease
at homo, who walk delicately and live in
! the soft places OF the earth remember
also to do them common justice
| 1T bohooVcs us to keep vigilant watch
/ to prevent these abuses and To- punish
those who commit them; but IL because OF
them We finch from finishing the task
on which we have entered we show our
selves cravcrs and weaklings, unworthy
Of the Sircs from whose loins We sprang.
There were abuses and to spare in the
Civil war. Your false friends then called
Grant n butcher and spoke of you who
are listening to me rs mercenaries, as
'Lncoln's hirelings'
Verify these men who thus fouly
slandorod you have their heirs today in
those who truduce our armies In the
Philippines who fix their eyes on individ-
nal deeds Of wrong so keenly that at last
they become blind to the great work OF
peace and freedom that has already been
accomplished
He continued further that the soldiers
in the Philippines were lighting for peace
and freedom, and their object was to es-
tablish not n military but a civil govern
ment for the natives When the Fill
pinos have shown q capacity for self
government 1t will then be possible to de-
eide whether they shall exist independent
ly AZ nation.