The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-05-23
BY WAY or EXPLANATION.

We ma very Few persons or neWspa-
 pers defending barbarity or cruelty prac-
 uced even by American soldiers, but we
 have been guilty of an effort to mitigate
 the harshness of censure and criticism
 by referring to the hardships, the treach-
 erous cruelty and the inhuman tortures
 to which they have been subjected by the
 heartless savages of the Philippines
 Chattanooga Times.
 The above Is part of an editorial com
 ment on some recent remarks of The Ad- vertiser in which we criticised the posi- ton taken by some writers and speakers
 Eho defend the actual and proven bar
 barities committed by some of our sol
 diers by saying that the FIllipinos them
 selves had committed many atrocious out
 rages on Americans. It Is a sort of
 ''tu quoque" argument which should not
 be resorted to on our side, for me claim
 to represent the civilized and Christian
 side of war.
 As in all other matters about which
 there is any controversy, arguments on
 this subject have run wild on both sides
 There are those who will tell you that the
 natives of the Philippines have murdered
 outraged and tortured Americans. and therefore, we have an inherent right tc treat them in the same manner. That is equivalent to saying that we must Tel
 ourselves down to the level of the savage
 and wage war after their fashion. We must fight the devil with fire. do unto oth- CTS as they do unto us, do as Rome does and retreat behind arguments of like nature. Is that a proper position for . professedly Christian people to take. even in war times7
 Then there are those who declare with
 unnecessary strenuity that there should
 be no criticism of our army individually
 or collectively. These say that a man
 who condemns or unfavorably comments
 on anything done by the army, or by any
 member of it, Is a traitor. copperhead,
 and various other complimentary terms of like nature, quality and quantity.
 Now, both these extremes are wrong We can easily understand how soldiers engaged in a war with savages should. In the heat of combat, practically lose sight of all feelings of mercy and humanity and should put to death all who have arms in their hands or who in any man. ner show hostility or resistance. But we | do not believe 1t right for an officer oi the United States army to issue orders tc kill non-combatants,' and to burn and | destroy all the property of the natives 1 Neither do we believe it right for oui | soldiers to torture and sometimes Kill I prisoners, either in retaliation for real oI alleged crimes committed by other sav' l ages, or for the purpose of obtaining in
 formation from the helpless captives These orders have been issued and these cruelties have been practiced beyond doubt, and no defence can be made fol the perpetrators. It is one thing to be cruel and revengeful in the heat of battle and with the remembrance of atrocities fresh in the mind, and 1t is another and quite different thing to practice cruelty in cold blood. One may be excused. il not defended, the other cannot.
 And we have no patience with those who contend that nothing done by our | army should be criticised or condemned | Much of the criticism indulged In by | newspapers and speakers has been harsh | and unjust, but the army is part of oul Government, and when that army or any of it's component parts does anything
 likely to bring discredit on the American people, it is both the right and the dut,
 of the press to condemn such acts. We neither hold with those who excuse every thing nor with those who condemn every thing done by the army or by the admin istration. We believe in upholding the Government while 1t is engaged in wal and we believe in exposing and condemn ing anything done by officer or private which tends to lower the high standard of our army.