The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1902-06-14
ROOT is RAM-AGEOu,,

After an unsuccessful attempt to
broWbeat General Miles for suggesting
Il humane policy of warfare in the Phil
ippines, Elihu B. Root, the New York
corporation attorney who defended
Boss Tweed and other corruptonists
and is now secretary of war in Roose-
velt's cabinet, has discharged from Of
flee a young lady named Rebecca ].
Taylor, the sister-in-law of Congress-
man AcCleary of Minnesota, because.
forsooth, she had the audacity of writ
ing an article criticizing a speech of
the president and the conduct of the
war of benevolent assimilation" in the
Philippines.
Secretary Root has no liberation for
anyone, whether male OF female, who
finds fault with the imperialistic pol
icy of the administration. In Manila
the press is throttled and editors, pro-
prietors and managers of American
newspapers are being prosecuted un-
der the Philippine sedition law for say
ing that the civil commission is IAN
pointing rascally natives to important
government positi ms" and that Am T.
leans will not stand for any arbitrary
government, especially when evidences
of carpetbagging and rumors of graft
are too thick to he pleasant
The Republican administration has
the same right to deny freedom of the
press to the American people at home
as in the Philippines. AS Senator Hour
said in his great speech of May %:
You have the same right to administer
the water cure, or to hang men by
the thumbs, to eXtort confession, in
Cleveland or Pittsburg or at Colorado
Springs as within THE Philippine Is
lands" Secretary Root has not vet
'resorted in this country to such humane
methods in silencing adverse criticism
of the president and his administra-
ton; but he intlicts all the punishment
he can. He would have retired Miles
if he could muster sufficient courage;
he has deprived Miss Taylor of her
position in the war office because she
Is woman who has the courage of
her convictions and the fearlessness to
express them in forcible English.
What crime has Miss Taylor COM
mitted? One would infer from read
ing Republican papers that she is
guilty of high treason to Roosevelt and
Root. Whether she is Republican or
Democrat we do not know. She is
certainly opposed to 'forcible annexa-
ton" which President Mckinley con-
demned as criminal aggression" Sha
published an article headed "The Flag
Shall Stay Put and said in part:
"In the face Of the official Philippine
horrors that are being disclosed, hor-
rors which have been perpetrated with
the knowledge and by the command Of
the military authorities in the islands,
the American people will read with
dismay that at the recent banquet Of
the Sons of the American Revolution
the president of the United States, the
commander in chief of the army and
navy, drank to the health of the SOL
diers and sailors Of the present day,
who, during the last three years, have
done such splendid work in the incon-
ceivably dangerous and harassing
warfare OF the Eastern tropics Long
will Theodore Roosevelt drink to the
health of those who wrought the splen-
did work of death ere the spirit Of
liberty shall he crushed from the souls
of the infant heroes of the Philippines,
but not till the land is left desolate, not
while humanity lives in the American
heart, not until the doctrine of the
brotherhood of man dies in Christen-
dom. not until God forgets His brown
children will the flag stay put on
the blood-scaked soil of the Philippines.
Eternal shame on such ignoble war
fare"
Secretary Roots attention was d.
rected to Miss Taylor's noble words.
He wrote to her and asked if she was
the author and gave her three days to
make an explanation in writing. She
admitted the authorship but declined
to make any explanation. She claimed
privileges under civil service rule No.
2 and said: Il respectfully submit that