Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1902-06-11

Of savagery and barbarism. The task
has not been as difficult or as import
ant as yours, but oh. my comrades,
the men in theuniform Of the United
States, who have for the last three
years patiently and uncomplainingly
championed the American cause in
the Philippine islands, are your young.
er 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
have fought under terrible difficulties
and have received terrible provoca-
ton from very cruel and very treach-
erous enemy. Under the strain Of
these provocations deeply deplore to
say that some among them have so
far forgotten themselves as to coun-
sci 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
hostile natives upon our troops, or up
on the peaceable and law-abiding ma
tives who are friendly to us, can not
be held to excuse any wrong doer on
our side. Determined and unswerv-
ing effort must be made, and is being
made. to find out every instance OF
barabrity on the part of our troops,
to punish those guilty of 1t, and to
take, il possible, even stronger meas.
ures than have already been taken to
minimize or prevent the occurrence
of all such instances in the future.
The Shame of Lynchings.
From time to time there occur in
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 evel
been committed by our troops in the
Philippines; worse to the victims, and
far more brutalizing to those guilty
of it. The men who fail to condemn
these lynchings, and yet clamor abou,
what has been done in the Philippines
are indeed guilty Of neglecting the
beam in their own eye, while tauntins
their brother about the mote in his
Understand me. These lynchings af
ford us no excuse for failure to stol
cruelty in the Philippines. Every ef
fort Is being made. and will be made
to minimize the chances of cruelty oc
curing.
But keep in mind that these cruel
ties in the Philippines have beer
wholly exceptional, and have beer
shamelessly exaggerated. We deeply
and bitterly regret that any sucf
cruelties should have been committed
no matter how rarely, no matter un
der what provocation, by American
troops. But they afford far less justi
fication for general condemnation
of our army than these lynchings al
ford for the condemnation of the com
munities in which they have takel
place. In each case 1t is well to con
denim the deed, and 1t is well also t,
refrain from including both guilty AM
innocent in the same sweeping con
defamation.
In every community there are pee
pie who commit acts of well-nigh in
conceivable horror and baseness. ]
we fix our eyes only upon these in
dividuals and upon their acts, and |
we forget the far more numerous eli,
izens Of upright and honest life an,
blind ourselves to their counties
deeds of wisdom and justice and phi
anthropy, it is easy enough to cor
denim the community. There is no
a city in this land which we could no
thus condemn II we fixed our eye
purely upon its police record and re
fused to look at what it had accom-
plished for decency and Justice an
charity. Yet this is exactly the att
tude which has been taken by to
many men with reference to our arm
In the Philippines; and 1t is an att
tude both absurd and cruelty unjus
i LineoIn's Rules Of War.
The rules of warfare which hav
been promulgated by the war depar'
ment and accepted as the basis @
conduct by our troops in the field ar
the rules laid down by Abraham Lii
coin when you. my hearers, were fgh
ing for the union. These rules PR
vide. Of course, for the just severit
necessary in war. The most destruc
i've of all forms Of cruelty would be {
show weakness where sterness is d.
manded by iron need. But all cruelt
Is forbidden, and all harshness beyon
what is called for by need. Our en-,
mics in the Philippines have not mer,
ly violated every rule Of war, but hay
made of these violations their onl
method Of carrying on the war. W
would have been justified by Abr,
ham Lincoln's rules of war in infinit
ly greater severity than has bee
shown. The fact really is that OF
warfare In the Philippines has bee
carried on with singular humanit.