The daily journal. (Salem, Or.) 1899-1903, 1902-05-30
RooSevelt's Memorial Address.
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Continued from First Page.)
have fought under terrible difficulties
and have received terrible provoca-
tiOn from a very cruel and very
treacherous enemy. Under the strain
of these provocations deeply deplore
to say that some among them have
so far forgotten themselves as to
counsel and commit, in retaliation,
acts of cruelty. The fact that for
every guilty act committed by one of
our troops a hundred acts of far
greater atrocity have been committed
by the hostiles natives upon our
troops, or upon the peaceable and
law-abiding natives who are friendly
to us, can not be held to excuse any
wrondoer on our side. Determined
and unswerving effort must be made,
and is being made, to find out every
instance of barbarity on the part of
our troops, to punish those guilty of
II, If possible, even stronger measures
than have already been taken to min
imize or prevent the occurrence of
all such instances in the future.
Lynchings In Our Country.
From time to time there occur i'm
our country to the deep and lasting
shame of our people, lynchings car.
ried on under circumstances Of inhu-
man cruelty and barbarity-a cruelty
infinitely worse than any that has
ever been committed by our troops in
the Philippines; worse to the victims,
and far more brutallzing to those
guilty of Il. The men who fail to|
condemn these lynchings, and yet
clamor about what has been done in
the Philippines, are indeed guilty of
neglectlng the beam in their own eye
while taunting their brother about
the mote in his. Understand me.
These lynchings afford us no excuse
for failure to stop cruelty in the Phil.
ipplnes Every effort is being made,
and will be made, to minimize the
chances of cruelty occurring.
Cruelties Are Exceptional.
But keep in mind that these cruel
ties in the Philippines have been
wholly exceptional, and have been
exaggerated. We deeply |
and bitterly regret that any such cru
elites should have been committed, |
no matter how rarely, no matter un-
der what provocation, by American |
troops. But they afford far less justi-
hcation for a general condemnation |
Of our army than these lynchings af-
ford for the condemnation of the com |
I'm which they have taken |
place. In each case II is we'll to con.
denim the deed. and 1t is well also to |
refrain from including both guilty |
and innocent I'm the same sweeping |
Acts OF individuals.
In every community there are peo-
pie who commit acts of well-nigh in
conceivable horror and baseness If
we fix our eyes only upon these indi-
and upon their acts. and If |
we forget the far more numerous citi-
zens of upright and honest life and |
blind ourselves to their countless |
deeds OF wisdom and justice and phil
antrophy, IL is easy enough to con
denim the community There is not
a city in this land which we could |
not thus condemn 1t we fixed our eyes /
purely upon its police record and re-
fused To look at what II had accom- |
plished for decency and justice and
charity. Yet this is exactly the atti
tude which has been taken by too
many men with reference to our army
in the Philippines; and it is an attl.
tude both absurd and cruelty unjust
Llneoln's Rules Followed.
The rules of warfare which have
been promulgated by the war depart.
ment and accepted as the basis of
conduct by our troops In the field are
the rules laid down by Abraham Lin
coin when you, my hearers, were
lighting for the Union. These rules
provide. of course, for the severity
necessary In war The most destruc-
tive of all forms of cruelty would be
10 show weakness where sternness Is
demanded by iron need But all cru.
'lty is forbidden. and all harshness
beyond what is called for need Our
enemies in the Philippines have not
merely violated every rule OF war, but
nave made of these violations their
lnly method OF carrying ON the war
We would have been justified by
Nbraham Lincoln's rules OF war In in
initely greater severity than has
'een shown, The fact really is
hat our warfare in the Philippines
las been carried on with singular hui
nanlty. For every act of cruelty by
'ur men there have been innumerable
cts of forbearance. magnanimity and
generous kindness. These are the
ualities which have characterized
he war as whole. The cruelties
ave been wholly exceptional on our
art
Guilty Must Be Punished. c
The guilty are TO be punished, but