Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-05-16
THE PHILIPPINE WAR
ACRIMONIOUS DISCUSSION IN
THE HOUSE.
MI Hill Tells of Atrocities Committed
by the Natives-Mr. Hepburn De-
tends the American Army.

The Philippine war continued to be the
topic of debate in the House of Represen-
tatives yesterday afternoon until O'Clock,
when the naval appropriation bill was
taken up for amendment under the five
minute rule. The reading of the bill was
not concluded and will be continued today.
Mr.. Hill of Connecticut had just taken
the floor to reply to Mr.. Vandiver, when
The Star report closed.
In the course of his remarks he said Il
came into the hall while the gentleman from
Missouri vas portraying the outrages that
had been perpetrated by the American SOL
diers. upon the Filipinos, and l regretted
very much to hear it. l had hoped that
there would be monopoly of that kind of
talk elsewhere and that we should not have
in the House of Representatives the ma
ligning and slandering of the American
army while in the performance of its duty"
Mr.. Vandver: DO you say that the state
ments / made were maligning and miSrepre-
senting the army?"
Mr.. Hill: Il say absolutely that the one
sided statement of any case is a falsehood
on its face and must be so; and had the
gentleman desired to be fair to the Ameri-
can army he would have stated both sides
OF this proposition.
Mr.. Vandiver: IF 1 occupied a place
where 1 had an opportunity to do it, 1
would state every side of this case
Mr. Hill Tells or Atrocities.
Mr.. Hill detailed a visit he paid to Cen
eral Smiths headquarters in the Philippines
and added: Il found the department of
General Jacob H Smith in peace and quiet
ness; and yet, while that condition existed,
this incident actually occurred: A company
OF Tagalogs, Filipinos-the Filipino army,
If you wish to call it such-descended upon
a village of peaceable Filipfnos, who chose
to carry on their regular business pursuits
in peace and quietness, and destroyed that
village, numbering men, women and chill
dren; and if the gentleman from Missouri
CMr. Nandiver) desires a specimen of bar
barity, ] want to tell you what they did to
loyal FiipinOs and Americans. They took
men out and tied them to ant hills. Now,
that may seem a strange thing, but those
ant hills are six or eight or ten feet high
and six feet in diameter, filled with ants
that are absolutely ravenOuS and eat up
everything they come in contact with. They
tied these men to ant hills and allowed
them to be eaten to death by ants They
buried them in the ground up to their necks
and allowed them to be pecked to death
by birds and eaten by the ants. They took
loyal Fiipinos and loyal Americans and cut
them open in the abdomen, taking out
portion of the bowels, and, mailing it to q
tree and driving them around the tree with
bolos while they disemboweled themselves:
ana yet you: gentlemen, stand here and con-
denim American soldiers for standing by the
men who are loyal to the American flag and
who are suffering such outrages as these 1"
MI Vandiver-"For the very same kind
of barbarities which you are now charging
against the Filipinos."
Mr.. Hill-''Talk about water cures, Fight
your political battles decentlv, Do NOT at
tempt to do it by slandering American SOL
ulers IN the performance of their duty
applause on the republican side)
Mr.. Lessler On. " said the SANDER and
villification directed against the American
soldier was but another case Of the maIo-
dorous bird befouling its own nest.
Mr.. Hepburn Defends the Army.
The Philippine discussion became gen.
eral, and Mr.. Hepburn Qowa) added his
voice in response to Mr. Vandiver's speech.
He referred to the Missouri members SER
vice in the confederacy and declared that
after thirty-five years. Mr.. Vandiver could
not forget the old days and the old meth
DDS.
He should remember" said Mr.. Hen
burn that the army he attacks is our
army, that these boys are our bows! That
they have been reared in American homes
and he should not In the House join the
ltbelers and slanderers in traducine our
American soldiers"
Every organization had its unworthy
members, declared Mr.. Hepburn. But In
stead of recognizing that, the Missouri
member had seized on every exaggerated
story in order to attack the American SOL
diers.
And this is DONE" asserted Mr. Hep
burn. bitterly. ito secure a miserable, a
desptcable political advantage" He was
ashamed to find any one ready to sacrifice
his Americanism in order to gain a petty
political advantage; ready to parade these
miserable exaggerations of fact which
could serve no purpose, but to degrade
American soldiers and American standards
Mr.. Williams (Miss) asked If Mr. Hep
burn defended the order to make Samar a
bowling Wilderness
Regards It as SANDER.
Il believe that is le," responded Mr.
Hepburn. II believe no American officer
ever made such an order; 1 believe it to
be SANDER. pure and simple"
Mr.. Wheeler (ky) made a short and
caustic rejonder to Mr.. Hepburn. While
agreeing with the Iowa member that the
Philippine question should not be turned
to party advantage. yet he wanted to know
why It was that men must close their
there were unworthy members of society
exposed in their unworthiness.
Mr.. Grow Pa) recalled the dark days Of
the civil war, and spoke Of the horrors Of
warfare seen at Gettysburg, Atlanta and
on other bloody fields. He maintained that
such conditions were necessarily incident
to warfare and that the course of our
forces in the Philippines was in pursuance
OF the established usages of war.
After the Philippine debate had continued
two hours Mr.. Meyer Ua) brought the
~ IL