The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1902-03-11

* prOmptu before the Lotos
AD club of New York on Satur-
day night last, Brigadier
General Funston, the Kansas whirl-
wind. disclosed Il new phase of his
many-sided character. 1t was Il capital
speech. clear, clean-cut, witty at times.
at other times eloquent, and at all times
directly to the point. A complete steno-
graphic report of it appeared in the
New York sun of yesterday; and those
who wish to be set straight as to occur
renCes in the Philippines ought to get
the speech and read it carefully from
beginning to end. We have not room
here for more than a few brief cuttings.
Here is one:
Funston had been telling of some OF
the splendid men who had lost their
lives in the Philippine fightng-men
like Lawton, the lion-hearted-whe
suddenly he said:
And nov | am going to say something which
hope N"n gentlemen will not critcisc ] am going
to 'ay it just as mildly as can. but we who have
seen our men killed. who have seen our men die
OF typhoid fever, die of dyscntery in the hos.
pitalS, and who have buried them in hundreds Of
nanclcSs graves in the Philippine islands, feel bit
tcrly about this subject. All OF those men who
have fallen since the month OF January, 1900 have
died not because the iipnos really had much
heart in lighting against u.s. but because they
were kept up by lot OF mininformed and mis-.
guided people here in the United States.
have been told by number Of inSurgent OFF,
crrs OF high rank, after their surrender or after
their capture, that they were kept up solely after
January, 1900, by the hope that the people of the
United States would compel the government 10
withdraw from the islands, | was told that with.
ont any hesitation whatever by even SO reserved
man ~ Agninaldo himself. | told That by
the notorious \leiandrno, by Luna, 10y Pablo Tee
son; none OF these men made any secret of ii at
all.
Several months ago, two private soldiers OF the
TwcntyfOurth United States infantry deserted
from The United States Amy, joined the FilipinoS
and fought with Them They were captured and
brought before military commission, gen.
crdl court martial, | should say, and last Jan
uily they were cNecutcd-lor giving aid and com.
fort to the enemies of the United States. These
men were poor ignorant soldiers, men who were
probably mi~lvd or were induced to do what they
did through oyrr-iudulgcnCc in native intoNi-
cants aud could not probably he altogether
blamed tor what they had done. Thcy had not
great opportunities for proper understanding Of
the situation, and venture to say that There are
great many men in The United States WHO have
done more harm with their pens, and more harm
with their mouths, than these men did with the
krag'Jolgcnscn rifles that they carried to the
enemy,
/ do not want to say anything brutal but, rs
say, the army feels bitterly about This business,
Lave no quarrel with the man who thinks that
we should not al first have taken the Philippine
Islands ! have no quarrel with the man who
thinks u whole lot Of things, but who does not
say too much about it NOW; hut all those men
who have been writing and talking about this
Thing and keeping Ills warfare alive and in the
field today say that | would rather see any one
of these men hangcd-hangci FOR treason, hanged
tor giving aid and comfort 10 the cuemy-thun
see the mmblc-t soldier in the United States
army lying on the field of battle Applause and
checTS),
II is perfectly proper for rs to have all sorts OF
opinions about the adyi>ablity of holding the
Philippine islands as 10 whether they are worth
anything 10 lis or whether they are a burden to
us-we are perfectly justified in having as many
opinions about them there are islands in the
philippines but, for heavens sake, let us keep
those opinions TO ourselves until the sovereignty
0f the United States has hcen established over
every square inch si those islands and then let us
get together and pull hair and fight the thing out
among ourselves Cheers aud prolonged APP
plau'e),
General Funston tore into shreds the
sentimental hallucination of certain
anti-imperialist eulogists that Aguin-
aldo and his outfit We're hgh-toned
patriots on the George Washington or
der. lie described from personal
knowledge scene after scene of utterly
atroclous inhumanity committed by Fill
ipino insurgents under orders from
their leaders-such scenes as the assas-
sination of Luna, which Aguinaldo con-
fessed TO Funston and sought to excuse
by saying that if Luna had not been
put out of the way he would have sup
planted Aguinaldo as dictator-and he
continued;
Il would be impossible TO eNaggerate the num-
ber OF crimes that have been committed by the
insurgent leaders, crimes almost against their own
people, the assassinations OF Filipiuos, not only
those who were suspected Of being in sympathy