The Washington times., 1902-09-23
Anti-Imperialist Commit
tee Sends Documents
to President.
ALLEGED CRUELTY CITED
The Father Augustine Case Brought to
the Attention of Mr.. Roosevelt-The
Prisoner Tortured With Water Cure
to Make Him Reveal Hidden Money.

BOSTON, Mass. Sept. 22.-The New
England Anti-Imperialist committee
made public today documents sent by IT
to President Roosevelt. no reply having
been received to it's letter of last July,
in which certain charges of military
cruelties in the Philippines were made,
1t is said that specific cases have sincs
been investigated by the committee
counsel. A purely formal acknoSiedg-
ment has been received by the commit
tee from the President.
The communication which the commit
tee sent the President is in part as fol-
lows:
''In the course of speech made by
you at the Weirs, n. H, on the 2sth
August, you are reported to have said;
The army. which has done its work SO
well in the Philippine Islands. has
been cruelty maligned even by some who
should have known better. The tempta-
tion to retaliate for the fearful cruelties
of a savage foe is very great. and now
and then it has been yielded to. There
haye been a few, and only few, such
instances in the Philippines; and pun
ishment has been meted out with un-
flinching justice to the offenders.
Army Not Maligned.
'.On all of these points We desire
most respectfully to say We take direct
issue with you. As the result of a
careful review of what has been writ
ten and said on the subject, we asser.
that the army has not been maligned,
cruelty or otherwise, certainly by us,
nor, so far as we have been able to
known better, unless the statement of
facts admitting. of direct proof can be
SO charactefized. The instances in
question have not been few. and many
such have been for military purposes.
not for retaliation; nor in many, and in
some glaring, and even notorious. cases,
has 'unflinching Justice been meted out
to the offenders. And all this we are
prepared to demonstrates before any un-
prejudiccd tribunal' competent to SUM
mon witnesses and compel the produc-
tion of papers.
To the case now specifically set forth
we made reference in our communica-
tion to you of July 23 We there said 1t
had, some months ago, been brought TO
the attention of the Chairman of the
Senate Philippine Committee. the Hon.
Henry Cabot Lodge. ard an investigation
urged. An investigation was by him
promiseds but no steps to that end. were
taken, and, so far as appears, the
Father Augustine incident was never
brought to your notice or to that of the
Senate committee. No disposition has
been shown in any official quarter to in
quire into it. From the evidence sub
mitted. it would appear to have been q
case of peculiar atrocity, involving, ap-
parenily. the crimes of kidnapping, of
torture, murder, and robbery
The Case in Point.
In statement of the cited case of
alleged cruelties made TO a firm of Bos-
ton lawyers and also sent in full to the
President, Mr.. Charles Francis Adams,
chairman of the anti-fmperfaiist rom
mittee, said
During the last half of the year
1se0-that is, less than two years ago at
this time-a certain company of regi-
ment of United States volunteers was
Stdtiontu dl DdHdtt, u SlDdti GNlllpD1ne
coast town not far from Iloilo. in the
Island of Panay. 1t was the only mill
tary force in the place at that time; AMI
the post. a so-called independent one
was commanded by the captain of the
company
''On or about the first week in Decem-
Der, 1900, the company in question then
having been stationed at Banate over
six months, United States gunboat ar
rived from Iloilo. having on board a
prisoner, who was delivered, presumably
for safe Keeping, to the officer command.
ing the post. The man thus delivered
was Filipino, apparently of about forty
years OF age, and familiar with the span
ish tongue.
Prisoner a Priest.
1T was afterward understood among
the soldiers of the post that he was a
priest OF the Roman Catholic faith,
called Father Augustine At the time
of his arrival at Banate. and delivery
to the officer in command, Father Au-
gustine was dressed, or rather disguised,
in the uniform of on-commissisned
officer of the United States Artillery.
His gown and cassock We're subsequent
ly carried up from the gunboat to the
place of his delivery by an enlisted
man.
Father Augustine was confined. not
with the other prisoners. but alone, in
small room under The officers quar-
ters. He remained there imprisoned
over week, during which he was sup
piled with an insufficient allowance of
food. To such an extent was this the
case that the sympathies of soldier
placed on guard over him were en-
listed, and by him the priest was Sc
cretly furnished with sufficient to sus-
tain life. This, the order of the COM
manding officer to the contrary not
withstanding.
Water Cure Employed.
"on December 8, 1900, Father Angus
tine was subjected to the form of tor
ture known as the water cure The
purpose in view in thus dealing with
him was not communicated TO the sol
diers at the post; but. from information
gathered by certain of them, ii was de-
lieyeG to be with the intent of forcing
information from him in regard TO the
whereabouts of sum of money. either
in the possession Of the prisoner or
secreted In some place known TO him.
ION the afternoon OF the following
Gay Father Augustine was again put
to the question On both these occa-
sions the torture was applied by SER
geant and private of the company, in