The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-05-24
SPURNS PLEA OF
FILIPINO GIRL
-2
Roosevelt Rejects the Petition Of
Miss Lopez.
SHE ASKS FOR JUSTICE
&
REPLY is THAT NOTHING WILL
BE DONE.
HE ASKS FOR JUSTICE

VTJ ASHINGTON, May 23.-The senate
w committee on the Philippines to-
day made public a petition pre-
scented by Miss Clemencia Lopez. a sis
ter Of Sixto Lopez, to the president for
the release Of three OF her brothers OF
the province Of BatangVs. They have
been taken into custody by General
Bell and sent to the island of Talim.
where. she says, they are undergoing
great hardships. AIiss Lopez is in Bos-
ton. and her petition is dated there,
March Is last. The text Of the petition
covers several printed pages, but the
facts and also the plea made by Miss
Lopez are summarized in the follow
ing:
Three of my brothers, Lorenzo, CT
prian0 and Manuel Lopez. are prison
ers in the island of Taliun, all the prop
eTty Of my family has been seized and
we are almost destitute. Against two
of my brothers there is no definite
charge, nor have any of them been al
lowed even a cOurt-maTtiaL My other
brother, CiprianO, is accused without
evidence Of having concealed fifty guns
when he surrendered with his troops in
March, 1901, Moreover, four of the
superintendents of our estates have
been arrested and have been inhu-
namely punished TO make them give
up these supposed arms. My family
has always been friendly with the
American officials, my oldest brother,
Mariana, having rendered them valu-
able service in pacifying several prov
inces, and our town of Balayan is the
only permanently pacifed town in the
province Of Batangas. The authorities
in the Philippines have refused TO hear
Us, and, therefore, because of such
great injustice. have come directly to
you. Mr.. President, to beg of you 10
give US Justice"
She says that when the superintend-
ents of the estate were arrested, they
were cruelty beaten, one of them dying
as a result Of the blows inflicted by
the soldiers.
Among the papers is the report on
the case by Charles Z. Magoon. law
officer Of the division Of insUlar affairs
of the Philippine islands, war depart
ment, who recommended that the petit
ton be not granted for the following
reasons:
That under the conditions existing
in Batangas province in December,
1901, Brigadier General Bell, in the in
stance under consideration, exercised d
lawful authority in a lawful manner.
That the showing made by the pa
pers filed is not sufficient to overthrow
the presumption that the action taken
by the authorities in Batangas was
warranted by the facts and the neces-
sites of the military situation"
The presidents position in the mat
ter is made known through the follow
ing note from Secretary Cortelyou to
Mrs. Mabel Warren Of Boston, under
date Of April %:
The president has received your
note OF the 22d inst, and requests me to
say. in reply. that he has gone care
fully over with the war department
the matter Of which you write having
been in correspondence with the au-
thorities at Manila and in consul, atiOn
with Governor Taft here, and that he
does not think anything can properly
be done. He viii see Secretary Root on
his return from Cuba, but there ap-
pears to be a consensus Of opinion that
no injustice was done.