Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-06-03
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT
LAUDS THE NATIONS DEAD
support of all men who are proud of
what you did.
Regrets Acts of Cruelty.

otAu navy iCCClNCu -ltl1lDlc DIONOCd-
ton from a very cruel and very
treacherous 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 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 wrongdoer on
our side. Determined and answering
effort must be made, and is being
made, to find out every instance of
barbarity on the part of our troops,
to punish those guilty of it, and to
take. if possible. even stronger meas
ures than have already been taken to
minimize or prevent the occurrence
of all such instances in the future.
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 NiuSltS anu puiily NiuSitS
infinitely worse than any that has ev-
err been committed by our troops in
the Philippines; worse to the victims,
and far more brutalizing to those gull
| ty of it. The men who fail to con-
denim these lynchings, and yet clamor
about what has been done in the Phil
lippines, are indeed guilty of neglect
| ing the beam in their own eye while
ltaunting their brother about the mote
| in his. Understand me. These lynch
| ings afford Us no excuse for failure to
stop cruelty in the Philippines, Every
effort is being made, and will be made
| to minimize the chances of cruelty oc.
,curring.
| ShameIessIy Exaggerated.
But keep in mind that these cruel
ties in the Philippines have been
wholly exceptional, and have been
| shamelessly exaggerated We deeply
and bitterly regret that any such cru
elites should have been committed, no
matter how rarely, no matter under
what provocation by American troops.
| But they afford far less justification
flor general condemnation of our ar
my than these lynchings afford for
! the condemnation of the communities
in which they have taken place. In
leach case it is well to condemn the
ldeeG, and it is well also to refrain
from including both guilty and inno-
cent in the same sweeping condemna.
4 ton.
A Comparison.
/ In every community there are peo-
pie who commit acts of wellnigh in
i al T q
we fix our eyes only upon these indi.
viduals and upon their acts, and if we
forget the far more numerous citizens
of upright and honest life and blind
ourselves to their countless deeds of
Wisdom and Justice and philanthropy
it is easy enough to condemn the
community There is not city in
this land which We could not thus
condemn if We fixed our eyes purely
upon its police record and refused tc
Hook at what it had accomplished for
Idecency and justice and charity. Yet
this is exactly the attitude which has
Ibeen taken by too many men with
Preference to our army in the Philip
pines; and it is an attitude both alb
lsurd and cruelty unjust.
i Enemies Violate All Rules.
| The rules of warfare which have
been promulgated by the war depart
ment and accepted as the basis OF
!, conduct by our troops in the field are
the rules laid down by Abraham Lin
coin when you, my hearers, were
fighting for the Union. These rules
provide, of course, for the just sever
lily necessary in war. The most de
lstructiye of all forms of cruelty would
be to show weakness where sternness
lis demanded by iron need. But al
cruelty is forbidden,and all harshness
beyond what is called for by need
Our enemies in the Philippines have
!, not merely violated every rule of war
but have made of these violation!
their own only method of carrying OF
the war. We would have been JUST
fled by Abraham Lincoln's rules o
war in infinitely greater severity thar
has been shown. The fact really il
that our warfare in the Philippine
has been carried on with singular hu
mainly For every act of cruelty b.
our men there have been innumerabl
j acts of forbearance, magnanlmity ant
+, generous kindness. These are tn
: qualities which have characterized
| 1.-THE war as a whole The crueltie
/ have been wholly exceptional, on on
, part.
Do Them Justice.
The guilty are to be punished; blu
lin Furnishing them, let those who 81
at ease at home, who walk delicatel
and live in the soft places of tn
earth. remember also to do then
common justice Let not the effort
less and the interrupted rail over
4 much at strong men who with bloo
/ and sweat face years of toll and day
and nights of agony, and at need la
:, down their lives in remote tropic jur
giles to bring the light of Civilization
: into the worlds dark places. TIL
+ warfare that has extended the bound
k laries of civilization at the expense G
Z barbarsm and savagery has been 70
i. centuries one of the most potent fat
!. tors in the progress of humanity We
q from it's very nature it has alMay
t and everywhere been liable to dar
: abuses.
e Called Grant Butcher"
r 1t behooves us to keep yigilar