Waterbury Democrat., 1902-04-16
ROOT ORDERS ACTION
Prompt Inquiry Regarding AL legged CrueIties to F'ilipinos.
COURTS MARITAL FOR OFFENDERS.
General Chafee. Cabled to Proceed ' at Once Against General Smith and Officers Who Adminis-
 .tered the .swater Care"

and Officers Who Adminis-
 .tered the sswater Cure."
 WASHINGTON, April 6-Secretary Root has cabled General Chaffee at Ma nila to investigate the newspaper re- ports of the Waller trial and if they are correct to court martial General Smith; i; also, if the facts are established as tes- fif1ed to before the senate Philippine committee, to court martial the officers who administered the water cure" to the presidente of Igbarras. These off cers are Major Glenn, Lieutenant Con- ger and Assistant Surgeon Lyon.
 Following is the memorandum for the adjutant general as cabled to Gen. eral Chaffee by order of the war de- partment:
 "On Feb. 19 a letter was sent you in closing for investigation copy of charges made by Governor Gardener of Tayabas province, which contained general allegations of cruelties prac- ticed by troops on natives and general ly of an insolent and brutal attitude of the army toward natives.
 .'On April 2 a cable dispatch was sent you urging action with all speed con
 
 Sestigation.
 .On the 4th of March a cable dis patch was sent you directing disciplin- ary measures to produce obedience to the presidents instructions, subordinate Ing military officers to civil government In paeitied provinces and instructing you to relieve Major Edwin F. Glenn and Captain James A. Ryan from duty and order them to Manila to await in- Festigation into their conduct in ac- cordance with instructions to follow by mail.
 ..On the 24th of March instructions were mailed you containing statement of charges against these officers and General Jacob H. Smith as the basis of the investigation ordered by the cable of March 4
 Further instructions in both matters are required by the following facts:
 Press dispatches state that upon the trial of Major Waller of the marine corps testimony was given by Waller, corroborated by other witnesses, that General Jacob H. Smith instructed him to kill and burn, that the more he kill ed and burned the better pleased Gen. eral Smith would be, that it was no time to take prisoners and that when Major Waller asked General Smith to define the age limit for killing he re- piled, Everything over ten
 If such testimony was given and the facts can be established, you will place General Smith on trial by court mar tial.
 Yesterday before the senate com mittee on Philippine affairs Sergeant Charles $. Riley and Private William Lewis Smith of the Twenty-sixth vol nnteer infantry testified that form of torture known as the water cure was administered to the presidente of the town of Igbarras, Iloilo province, is- land of Panay. by a detachment of the Eighteenth United States infantry commanded by Lieutenant Arthur L. Conger under orders of Major Edwin F. Glenn, then captain of the Twenty fifth infantry, and that Captain and Assistant Surgeon Palmer Lyon, at that time contract surgeon, was pres ent to assist them.
 1.-The officers named of such of them as are found to be responsible for the act will be tried therefor by court mar tial. Conger and Lyon are in this coun- try Both the Twenty-sixth volunteer infantry and Eighteenth infantry hay Ing returned to the United States and most of the witnesses being presump- lively hero. the secretary of war di- rects that Major E. F. Glenn, Twenty fifth infantry, be directed to proceed to San Francisco and report to the gener- nl commanding the department of Cal ffornia with a view to his trial by court martial under charges alleging the cruelties practiced by him upon a native of the Philippine Islands at Ig- barras on the 27th of June, 1900.
 "You win take such course in ad- vancing or postponing the investiga- tions previously ordered into the con- duct of General Smith and Major Glenn as shall be required to enable you to execute these instructions.
 Tt is believed that the violations of law and humanity of which these cases if true are examples will prove. to be few and occasional and not to characterize the conduct of the army generally in the Philippines, but the fact that any such acts of cruelty and barbarity appear to have been done in- dicates the necessity of a most thor bugh, searching and exhaustive inves- tigation under the general charges pre- ferred by Governor Gardener, and you will spare no effort in the investigation already ordered under these charges to uncover every such case which may have occurred and bring the offenders to justice.
 .'The president desires to know in the fullest and most circamstantial manner all the facts, nothing being concealed, and no man being for any reason favored or sheltered For the very reason that the president intends to back up the army in the heartiest fashion in every lawful and legitimate method of doing it's work he also in- tends to see that the most rigorous care is exercised to detect and prevent any cruelty or brutality and that men who are guilty thereof are punished Great Us the provocation has been iI dealing with foes who habitually re- sort to treachery murder and torture against our men. nothing can justify or will be held to justify the use of torture or inhuman conduct of any kind on the part of the American