Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-05-30
nent. and now for over a century and

L
task was the one you did, the task of
saving the union. There We're other
crises in which to have gone wrong
would have meant disaster; but this
was the one crisis in which to have
gone wrong would have meant not
merely disaster but annhilation. For
failure at any other point atonement
could have been made; but had you
failed in the iron days the loss would
have been irreparable, the defeat ire
trievable. Upon your success depended
all the future of the people ON this con-
tinent, and much of the future of man.
kind as a whole.
You left us a reunited country. You
left us the right of brotherhood with
the men in gray, who with such cour-
age, and such devotion for what they
deemed the right fought against you.
But you left us much more even than
your achievement, for you left US the
memory of how it was achieved. You,
who made good by your valor and paS
triotism the craftsmanship of Lincoln
and the soldiership of Grant, have set
the standards for our efforts in the fu-
ture both the way you did youl work
in war and the way in which when the
war was over YOU turned again to the
work of peace. In war and in peace
alike your example will stand as the
Wlsest lessons to us and our children
and our childrens' children.
Just at this moment the army of the.
United States. led by men who served
among you III the great war, is CO csrrying
to completion a small but peculiarly
trying and difficult war in which is in
volved not only the honor of the flag
but the triumph of civilization over
forces which stand for the black chaos
OF savagery and barbarism. Tie task
has not been as difficult or as important
as yours but, oh. my comrades, the
men in the uniform of the United
States, who have for the last three
years patiently and uncompla ningx
championed the American cause in the
Phllpplne islands, are your younger
brothers, your sons. They have shown
themselves not unworthy of you, and
they are entitled to the support of all
men who are proud of what you did.
These younger comrades of yours
nave fought under terrible difficulties
and have received terrible provocation
from very cruel and treacherous en-
emy. Under the strain of these provo
cations l 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 commit tied by
one of our troopy hundred acts; of far
greater atrocity have been committed
by the hostile natives E2on our troops.
or upon the peaceable and law-abiding
natives who are friendly to us, can not
be held to excuse any wrongdoer on
our side. Determined and unswerving
effort must be made, and is being made. |
to find out every instance of barbality |
an the part of our troops. to punish |
those guilty of it, and to take, if possi- |
Gle, even stronger measures than have I
already been taken to minimize or pre-
vent the occurrence Of all such inslan-
ces in the future.
From time to time there occur in our I
to the deep and lasting shame
of our people, lynchings carried on un-
Ter circumstances of inhuman cruelty I
and barbarity-a cruelty infinitely
worse than any that has ever been I
committed by our troops in the Philip
cines; worse to the victims, and far
more brutaliZing to those guilty of it.
rhe men who fail to condemn these
and yet clamor about what
has been done in the Philippines, are
indeed guilty of neglecting the beam In
heir own eye while taunting their bro
her about the mote in his Under
stand me- These lynchings afford us
10 excuse for failure to stop cruelty in
he Philippines. Every effort is being
made, and VIII be made, to minimize
he chances of cruelty occurring.
But keep in mind that these cruel
les in the Philippines have been who'll
Y exceptional and have been shame
essly exaggerated. We deeply and bit
erly regret that any such cruelties
hould have been committed, no matter
low rarely, no matter under what pro-
location. by American troops. But they +
ford far less justification for a gem
raj condemnation of our army than
hese lynchings afford for the condem-
ation of the communities in which
hey have taken place. In each case it
5 well to condemn the deed and it is
yell also to refrain from including both
uilty and innocent in the game sweep
ng condemnation.
In every community there are peo- ,
lie who commit acts of well-nigh in ,
onceivable horror and baseness. IT we
X our eyes only upon these individu-
Is and upon their acts, and if we ior-
ct the far more numerous citizens of
pright and honest life and blind our .
elves TO their countless deeds of Wis
ON and justice and philanthropy, it is :
asy enough to condemn the commune ,
v There is not city in this land
rhich we could not thus condemn if we
xed our eyes purely upon its police
acord and refused to look at what it 7
ad accomplished for decency and JUS
ce and charity. Yet this is exactly
he attitude which has been taken by
30 many men with reference to our :.
rmy in the Philippines: and it is an :
ttitude both absurd and cruelty un-
lst.
"The rules of warfare which have
cen promulgated by the war depart y
lent and accepted as the basis of con-
uct by our troops in the field are the :,
Hes laid down by Abraham Lincoln /,
hen you, my hearers, We're fighting for E
lie union These rules provide. of :
purse for the Just severity necessary q
war The most destructive of all Z
,rms of cruelty would be to show Y
eal6ness where sternness is demanded r
Y iron need But all cruelty is forbid .
en, and all harshness beyond what is n
,lled for by need Our enemies In the Z
have not merelyviolated ev-
" rule of war, but have made of these :.