The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-04-13
Shows That the Accused Manila Edi-
tors Merited Prosecution for
LibeIOus Utterances.
TWO MEN WITH GRIEVANCES
WHO ARE SEEKING TO DISCREDIT
CIVIL GOVERNMENT.
Upright and IncorruptibIe Commits
siOners Charged with Using Their
Power To Make Money.

CINCINNATI, April 12.-The Times-Star
to-day publishes the following: Governor
Taft. of the Philippines, was to-day shown
a copy of the letter written by the Rev.
David Philipson Unpublished this morning.
After reading DR.. Philipson's letter Gov
] ernor Taft said:
Il have no desire and no intention of en-
| tering upon a newspaper controversy in
respect to matters as to which have had
| and may have official duty to perform,
but the communication from DR.. Philipson,
| published in a morning paper, makes me
! feel that in my home. where L hope l have
| many friends, 1 ought to say something TO
disabuse the minds of a disinterested and
! public-spirited man like DR.. Philipson Of
| certain erroneous impressions L think he
has gathered from sources of information
| which he seems to adopt as authoritative
/ His communication relates to two mat
tiers: First as 20 the arrest Of the editors
! of the Manila daily newspaper. the Free
| dom. DR.. Philipson assumes that the prose-
| cution of the editor OF the Freedom is
| based on criticism of the policy adopted
/ by the commission. In this i know he is
| entirely In error. The prosecution of the
| Freedom, as may, perhaps, be gathered
/ from the dispatches, and as j know from
/ previous history is for charging that the
members of the commission, or some of
/ them, without naming any one, enjoy what
/ is vulgarly known a graft that is, that
| they corruptly receiving money for
| their action as commissioners. A prosecu-
ton has been begun, it is said, under the
sedition law, against the editor Of the Free
/ dom. in which he will have full Oppor-
| tunity to show as defense that such cor
! ruption exists, If II does exist. The action
| is begun under the sedition law because IL
could not be prosecuted successfully under
the libel law. Under a law Of libel charge
that a public body or that member of a
L.
charge upon which a suit by any particular
member, not named, of that body can be
founded. Under the sedition law a charge
| of that kind against government body
can be prosecuted and the defendant given
| an opportunity to show that IL is true. 1t
does not aid the discussion nor is it ma
| terial whether it be called sedition or GRIM
inal libel to call such a prosecution lese
| majestic
The question presented simply is
| whether a newspaper shall be permitted
| day after day to charge that the highest
/ governmental body in the islands is COM
posed of men who are corruptly using their
! power to make money without any oppor-
| tunity to any member of the body to the
| body as a whole to take action by suit
before court regularly constituted to pun
! ish such malicious misstatements, if they
are malicious, or TO give the person making
them the opportunity of showing that they
| are true.
ANIMUS OF THE CHARGES.
''Under the military government which ex-
|
eminent, and under the Spanish method.
| the editor would be sent to prison or de-
ported and the paper suppressed. The ami
mus of the charges is manifest The Free
dom is a newspaper which has devoted its
columns always to the denunciation of the
Filipinos. to holding them up to the scorn
of Americans; advocates with intensity the
turning over the government from the civil
| n milf tpG no 11tu
| severity of measures against the FflipinoS,
! 1t attacks the commission daily for APP
| pointing FilipinoS to office, for legislatng
in the interest of the Ffipinos and for not
| looking to the interest of Americans. 1t
I seeks to stir up American prejudices
! against the Filipinos, and on the other
| hand, its unjust attacks upon FilipinoS has
| a tendency to destroy the confidence Of Fill
pinos in the friendly interest of Americans
1.-The Daily American, which is another
| newspaper of Manila, and takes much the
same view in respect to the necessity for
! severity OF measures against all Filipinos
| and a distruSt of them and advocates a re-
| turn to the military government of the
| islands, at one time published an article
charging that some member of the COM
mission, not mentioning his name, was In
! terested in an enterprise in the islands As
| president of the commission / wrote to the
! editor of the American and demanded that
he make a specific charge against some
| member of the commission so that member
/ might take steps TO defend his reputation,
| or that he withdraw the charges; that a
|
charge against no particular person and yet
| was charge against all was cowardly.
| thereupon made inquiry and found. as / had
| always supposed the case 10 be- that not
| member of the commission had dollars
| interest in any enterprise in the Philippines,
and the charge, which was said TO have
been based on clippings from some news
| paper in the United States, was then for
/ mally withdrawn.
THE Freedom has now made general
| charges of corruption without any specifi-
| nj mis-
sion. without mentioning names, are get
| ting what is called "a graft The question
quires that persons making such charges
| should be immune from prosecution. 1t
| seems to me not. Under the circums tances,
| and in such a matter, the personal injury
to the commissioners who are maligned is
| comparatively of small Importance. The
| injury done is in destroying the usefulness
of the commission by impeaching its disn-
terestedness. 1t Is of the highest Importance
TO induce the Filipino people to believe that
! IL is possible under American government
! that Offices shall be administered in the
| public Interest and not for private and il
| legal emolument and that there is not 10 be
a return to conditions Of corruption exist
| ing under Spanish rule.
MAJOR GARDENERS REPORT.
1.-The second circumstance referred to by
| DR.. Philipson is the Tayabas report of
Major Gardener as Civil Governor OF that
province. DIR. Philipson says that the re-
port was suppressed by the governmental
authorities. How suppressed? The facts
/ are that in testifying before the committee
j volunteered, without suggestion from
| the committee. 10 present to IL certain
! reports to rebuff the charge that there was
no tranquility In provinces said 10 be
/ pacifed and was admitted TO be in state
/ of instruction. There was no obligation on
| my part. therefore. to present any report
| in regard TO the Tayabas. for l not
/ asked 10 do so. Before the time when
/ presented the reports l had submitted the
/ Tayabas report 10 the secretary Of war for
investigation.
The Tayabas report needs investigation
] before 1t shall be accepted Major Gardener,