The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-04-26

IuftAsr py many casualties, stood to their
guns and drove them back. I only had
three days OF 1t, but they bore the ordeal
without finehing for three months. And
all the time we had before us the horrible
picture, like some blood drenched cEn-,
vas of Goya, Of the twenty survivors OF
Balangiga; one with an arm Topped off,
another with 3 leg; there man with his
eyes gouged out. and one with twenty
chastity cuts across his body. In none az
the fights Of which I have knowledge, did
the. Samarites ask for quarter--they do
had they done SO do mot believe at.
would have been granted by any man who
saw the living and the dead witnesses to
their hendish savagery. f
These are the things which the marines
saw when they landed at..Basay, and 1t
must be borne in mind that there were
the closest ties OF friendship between the
murdered men Of the Ninth and walters
marines. They had stood shoulder to
shoulder in the battle Of Tien tsin and
walked side BY eide on the march to
Picking. Again the critics are at fault
through Ignorance OF the facts, not
wrong eadedness, perhaps--as to the
motive which actuated Waller in punish.
ing the traitors in his ranks as summarily
as possible
self-Defense.
1t was certainly not in revenge. II
their past offanses lad been the only
consider ation Waller might and very
probably would. have waited and not
placed his name and commission in jeop-
sardy But he determined to safeguard
the lives of those intrusted to him and
leave his commission to be passed upon
by the judgment OF all fair-minded men,
He was more careful of tho army post of
Doc witt + oil {oVr AAL
than he was OF his personal fortunes.
There had never been any doubt but that
If unity OF action could be arranged Boz
tween the insurgents outside and the fn-
.surgents inside, our little garrison would
be quickly OverpoWered, and here he dis
covered men In direct communication with
the enemy And by means Of drulnhead
court martial he put them where they
could do no harm, as he had right to
do under the martial law. At any mo-
ment these men might have brought to
successful termination their career OF
treason, and Major Waller had not the
while bringing them to justice by or
binary procedure. The danger Of not
having enough men to guard prisoners
and yet keeping them was one OF the les
sons Waller Rad learned from his In
vestigations Of the Balangiga massacre,
and twas. mistake he was not likely to
repeat. 81,
The Right to Kill.
There seems to be no doubt as to the
guilt of the men. This plea was not
raised in the course of the court martial.
The charge seemed to be that Waller had
no right to execute the men so summarlly
even if they were guilty. And what be-
comes of the thousand and one drumhcad
court martials followed by summary exc
cution for treason and espionage, Whlcn
the annals of the rebellion reveal-and
that, it will be remembered, was the most
civilized war ever waged?
One more incident of the many that
came under my observation and recon
ciled me to the character Of the war we
are waging in Samar. A little midsh1p-
man Just out from Annapolis, was patrol
ing the strait in yawl from the flagship
New York He was after the smugglers
who bring arms to the insurgents from
Leyte. The great gale had blown the
-yawl out into the Pacific and when II
subsidized little Noah and his six men were
exhausted. Their water had given out
Rodgers having ordered them not to lane
except at an armed post. The wind diee
away while Basay was still two miles OH
Two of his men were delirious with thirst
and there was the little village of NiPe
Nipa only few hundred yards away
flying the white flag of peace and friend
ship Noah, as he floated near the shore
lifted up his empty water jar and the
kindly people on the beach understood
with the precious fluid and pointed at ms
white flag to reassure him. He pushhae
his boat into the surf, and, telling shtf
men to wait in the boat advanced soMt
fifty yards Up the beach where the gpod
Samaritans were awaiting him with thei1
water bags. AS he drank his first deeI
draught two of the natives-7one woman
-crept behind him and buried their
knives in his back
Waller Under Orders.
If the attempt is made, and 1t looks
very much as though 1t were to be, tic
proye that what has been done in Sama1
was done without the knowledge Of the
higher authorities in Manila and pos
sibly in Washington, the attempt will not
be successful When the facts are known
it will be clear as day that General Smith
and Major Waller were sent to the island
to carry on campaign the nature o.
which had been fully decided and partly
put in execution. Before either Of these
officers reached Sanlar Balangiga, Kita-
punden, dozen other barrios of south
ern Samar had been destroyed. There
was not stick or a stone Of them left
standing. The fish corrals on which the
natives Of this district subsist had. been
destroyed as we'll as the rice patches
And, SO far as know, thekpunitive ex-
petitions that valid waste the country
while Waller was yet In Cavite and Smith
in Pangasinan did not take any prisoners,
i