Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-03-10
HTS LNnE AMERICANS
Funston Says Men Who Encour.
aged Filipinos We're Worse
Than Deserters.
Declares the Filipinos Are Not
in the Same Class as
Cubans.
Kansas General Guest Of the
Lotus Club in New York
City.

New York, March 10.-Brig. Gen.
Frederick Funston was the guest of
honor at a dinner given Saturday night
at the Lotus Club More than 300 MEM
bers of the club We're present.
The guests table was presided over
by Frank r. Lawrence, the president of
the club. AT his right sat General Fun
| ston.
| The others at this table We're Charles
| s. Gleede, a prominent lawyer of Tope-
ka; Frank r. McLennan, editor OF the
Topeka Journal: Charles Leeds. OF
Chicago; e. r. Jeffrey, president of the
Denver and Rio Grande railroad; Capt.
| Charles d. Coghlan, U. S. N; Rev. Or.
Minot j. Savage: Job e. Hedges; Paul
Dana and j. II. Garfield, of Columbia
University, who at one time taught a
school in Kansas which Gen. Funston
attended when boy.
When the dinner was over President
Lawrence arose, and introducing Gen.
Funston said:
There are some things which do not
enter into the realms of controversy.
and among them are the bravery ana
intrepidity of the armed men we have
sent out. I have the pleasure OF intro
ducing to you one whose single act al
most brought an end to the war in the
Philippine islands. We greet him very
heartily"
Gen. Funston said that judging from
the remarks of the president he was
expected to talk about the war in the
Philippines.
ITO talk about war over there is not
an agreeable subject said he. But
what | may say may aid some OF you
in forming opinions as to the condition
of affairs in the islands. The army mas
been doing as we'll as 1t could under the
circumstances.
"When Manila was surrendered to
Dewey and Merritt some thousands or
Spaniards were in the city. In the eyes
of the world these people looked to US
for protection, and to have turned them
over to the uncomfortable mob known
as Aguinaldo's army would have been
the blacklist page of American history;
one that thousand years of repentance
and restitution would not have salts
fed"
Gen. Funston then told in minute de-
tail of the instances which led to the
warfare between the American army
and the insurgents, and during the mar
rative told of the shooting of sentries
nv Filipino scouts who had passed the
lines ~
He said that on the opening of the
battle between the army and the insur-
gents Mai. Metcalf of the First Ne
braska regiment had come to his quar-
tiers and said THE dance has begun.
"what dance I asked. and Maj
Metcalf replied. Go out and hear II,
and l went out and heard the puttering
of rifle balls. and that was the begin
ming of the war there"
Gen. Funston then said:
"All sorts of men get into the army.
There are good, bad and Indifferent,
but / believe that 95 per cent of the
American soldiers are brave and hui
name lot of men. The other per cent.
who have been writing letters to news
papers. have ornamented the insides OF
a grog house for a longer time than
they have distinguished themselves In
the field
Gen. Funston then mentioned several
instances of personal bravery on the
part of the men in the army which re-
suited in their death, including those
of Capt. Godfrey and Sergt. O'Brien.
He was present when Sergt. O'Brien
was shot, and said 1t was "one of those
~, ia, van
of humdrum existence.
His listeners cheered the remark.
Then Gen. Funston said:
"All of those men who have fallen
since December. 1900. have been VIC
tins of lot of nisinformed and mis-
guided people here in the United
States 1t is perfectly proper for us to
have all sorts of opinions as to what we
should do with the Philippine islands,
but for heavens sake let us keep them
to ourselves until every square inch of
that territory recognizes the sovereign
ty of the United States"
Gen. Funston then gave many exam
pies to show that the Filipino leaders
We're not true patriots. He mentioned
the Staying of Antonio Luna, who was
ordered slain by Aguinaldo. Funston
said that Aguinaldo had told him IN
regard to Lunas death: had him
killed simply because he would have
been dictator instead of myself
"Would you imagine George Wash
ington doing anything like that?" asked
Gen. Funston.
The general said there was not one of
the so-called Filipino patriots who
could not be convicted of murder If he
was tried by jury. He declared that
there had never been war in the
worlds history where the soldiers had
shown such humanity as had the
American troops in the Philippine
islands.
He then told of twenty four Ameri-
can soldiers who had joined the Filipi-
nos and who were afterward captured
and executed as traitors, and then said:
"There are many men in the United
States who did more with their mouths
and minds to aid the insurgents than
did these poor men with the Krag-
Jorgensen rifles 1 would rather see
those men hanged for treason than to
see one of our soldiers dead on the field
of battle"
The general declared the Filipinos
could not be classed with the Cubans.
and he said that If the United States
troops should now leave the Philippine
islands there would be half dozen diff
ferent kinds of civil wars there, and
- .1ll