The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-07-28
GRAVE CHARGES Contained in an Open Letter of Anti-ImperiaIists to
 Pres. Roosevelt.
TRUTH ABOUT PHILIPPINES
CONCEALED TO PROTECT HONOR
 OF THE ARMY.

Testimony of Representative FIlipinOs Systematically Suppressed - Dreyfus Case Suggests What May be Expected of Military tribunals When the Army's Honor is InvOIved-GeneraI Decentralization Of Army and Army Couris-NIartiaI Charged-A Case Men- tioned to Prove It-WIiful Inconsis- tency of Secretary Root.
 Lake George, N. Y, July 27.-At a meeting of representative anti-imperial- ists held in New York city last spring a committee was appointed to investigate army conditions in the Philippines. That committee has since then been prosecuting its inquiries. President Roosevelt's recent review of the court martial of Jacob H. Smith seemed to the committee to demand some reply and at a meeting just held at Lake George an open letter to the president was adopted. The letter is signed by Charles Francis Adams, chairman; Carl Schurz, Edwin Burritt Smith, Moortield Storey, and Herbert Welsh. The text is as follows:
 Lake George, N. Y, July 22, 1902.
 To the Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States-Slr: On the 16th of April last the secretary of war, under your personal order, issued memorandum of instructions sent to Gen. Chaffee, relating to outrages and acts of torture alleged to have been perpetrated in the Philippines. Shortly after, a meeting of persons interested therein was held in New York. At this meeting we were appointed commit tee "to take all necessary steps to effect the full disclosure Of the facts connect ed with processes and executions in the course of military operations in the Philippine islands" The duty thus i1n- posed has since engaged our attention, and, in the performance thereof, we have investigated many cases of al- legged outrage, besides otherwise seek ing to inform ourselves in relation thereto
 In this connection, we now desire to express the qualification afforded us by your rSN1GW Ol lilS HUI lllot., cio SOili- nander-in-chief, of the findings of the court-martial in the case of Gen. J. H. Smith. Taken in connection with the previous memorandum of April 15, that review will, in our opinion, do much toward the re-establishment of the na- tional prestige and the restoration of the morale of the army. At this time, therefore it is of more than national, it is distinctly of international ser vice, for, brought into new relations with remote and, possibly. less de- veloped races, it is manifestly above all desirable that the United States should aim to elevate others to a higher stand ard, rather than itself sink to a lower.
 Especially opportune, in our rjudg- ment, is your very commendable re- hinder to officers in high and respons- be positions that, in a warfare with national dependents, such as that re- gently waged by US In the east, it be- hooves all such officers to be peculiarly careful in their bearing and conduct, so as to keep a moral check over any acts of an improper character by their sub- ordinates." The level here reached is lofty, and in healthy contrast with that spirit, far too prevalent, which seeks excuse, if not justification, for the ex- cesses of the present, in every instance of inhumanity which can possible be ex- humed either from colonial history otherwise happily forgotten. or from the regrettabe records of our Indian war fare.
 While thus, however, expressing our sense of obligation, we wish most re- spectfully to call your attention to cer- tain conclusions which we have in the course of our own inquiries found our- selves compelled to reach. These con- clusions we are not unaware, may be somewhat at variance with those reached by you: none the less, in stat ing them, our desire is to contribute, if in our power so to do, toward the more complete realization of the ends set forth in the memorandum to Gen. Chaffee of April 15.
 Coming directly to the point, and speaking historically, our investiga- tions have led us to conclude that the demoralization of the officers and sol- diers of our army in the Philippines, in- cluding all branches of the service and all grades of rank, was far more gen. eral, as we'll as pronounced, than might be inferred from your review of the court-martial findings in the case of Gen. Smith. The essential facts charged in this case, we believe we have reason to say. were rather mo- torious than exceptional. Demoralizing influences, very prejudicial to any high standards of military morale, were un- der the circumstances, inevitable These were aggravated by the fortuitous course of events, the operation in China reacting directly on the Philippines; for compact with the foreign contin- gents and the observation of their methods of making war there naturally had deteriorating influence on our own officers and men in not dissimilar operations elsewhere. This led to la- mentable results, calling for the firm hand and stern correction found, and most fortunately applied, in your orders of April 15 and July IA. For that appli- cation, while the country is under great obligation to you, the army is, in cur