The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-10-26
RAWLINS' GREAT PHILIPPINES SPEECH
DREW FALSE CHARGES FROM GUILTY

ippine bill making the courts depend
ent on the Philippine commission. His
suggestions, making the judges less
dependent and fixing their salaries
were adopted.
Reforms Due to Rawlins.
Other Suggestions were acted upon
favorably. The latter part of the
speech was devoted principally 10
reading the testimony taken by the
Senate Philippine committee as to the
barbarities committed in the name OF
the American army. AS a result OF
this exposure, He'll Roaring Jake
Smith. who ordered that Samar be
made a bowling wilderness" and
that all persons over The age OF ~
years should be slaughtered, was dis
missed from active service in the
army, the water cure" was ordered
stopped, tortures were discountenanced,
several offices and men felt the weight
OF official displeasure. and other eau
teriZing results were obtained.
Men in Washington familiar with the
inside OF all that took place. say, re-
CARELESS of party affiliations, that 20
Senator Rawlins is due the credit for
practically all the reforms instituted
in the conduct OF the warfare in the
Philippines and. by showing that the
American people did not approve OF
the atrocities, for upholding the honor
of the army and of the American peo-
pie as whole.
Torture of Natives.
In discussing the actions OF Ameri-
can soldiers in the Philippines, Sena-
tor Rawlins read at length from the
testimony. The witnesses told of many
instances of the water torture. In one
instance the mayor OF town was sus-
pected of aiding the insurgents.
I'm the morning, officers were sent
out. who arrested the mayor of the
town. said the speaker. HE was
dragged in and stripped, and Captain
Glenn. the judge advocate. decided 10
prove his case, and when he had
proved his case ne decided TO infiict
the penalty. How did he prove his
case? He took the poor old man and
stripped him. brutaliy laid him down
upon his back under a faucet. thrust
a stick in his mouth to keep 1t open,
ard let the water run in until he was
filed. According TO the testimony OF
these witnesses, his eyes became blood
shot. and he shrieked in pain and
agony.
while in that situation. the inter-
prefer. doubtless compelled TO perform
this Infamous service. stopped over him
and said, Confess, confess This pres
idente was tortured until he was COM
PEELED. to say what these men wanted
him TO say. If he had not said H.,
what would have happened TO him we
can only conjecture; but, being unable
TO endure that form of torture longer.
I L. - III oil
say. HE declared that he himself was
traitor and was communicating with
the insxrrectos in the field"
Burning of a Town
What were the other penalties
There were 10000 men. women and lit
tie children in that town. That even
ing. at o'clock, a most opportune hour.
direction was given TO the soldiers TO
proceed to the head Of the town with
an interpreter and go along the street
with all speed and begin the work OF
destruction. burning the village. be-
/ ginning at the top and the only no
| tice of it as they marched up the street
was that the crier called out 10 such
people as heard him that they were
! going to burn the town. They got 70
| the top of the town and they began the
work of destruction. The torch was
applied TO every house. and they were
all destroyed with the exception OF
| fifteen. Ten thousand people who had
| committed no offense whatsoever
/ against any human being, so far as
/ anything disclosed in this case is con-
/ cerned, had their homes wiped from the
| face of the earth. Men, women anc
/ children were turned out TO starve; yes
! their provisions destroyed. their house
/ nj in
J cept that which they had upon theii
person, if anything, destroyed.
| These men, women and little chill
| dren were the victims Of this sitter
policy of General Hughes, and have
read to you already the excuse Genera
Hughes gave. He said, Yes; we burned
the town. The best way 10 punish the
man Is TO punish the women and chill
| dren.' The most effectual method Of
! bringing to terms a parent who loves
his child is to infiict torture and pun
fshment upon his unoffending offspring
| Why? Because the war department
and Colonel Dickman tell us some cfue
| things had happened. mentioning thre'
or four instances which are named II
| the report. and when they are made III
| subject Of scrutiny and inquiry what d'
we find? The nearest one of those tina
I
away. The war department said I'M
wrong was inflicted by insurgents. blu
the testimony showed that the cruelt.
was inflicted by robbers, or common
nurderers and plunderers and not d.
insurrectos But nobody claims tina
the people in this town had the sl@ht
est connection with any or those things
Still the town was destroyed ana incl
leading men carted away and put int
prison, where they are now ianguish
ing"
Chaffee's Death Rattle.
The speaker read from Genera
Smiths order TO execute a certain por
ton of the prisoners of war. choosin.
them by lot, and told how this orde
was carried out.
'If they did not happen to have Il
their custody at the time they desire'
to apply this law of retaliation som
native from the village or the tow
| where the offense was committed, SAL
Senator Rawlins, they went 10 som
other town or to some other Villag
and by a death rattle selected som
other person to be taken out and 10 D
shot Strange that these things coul
appear upon the official records, as the
do"
senator Rawlins then read from tn
official documents Of other crueltie
nracticed. He recited the testimon
showing that noh~combatants wer
placed at the head Of the columns I
receive the fire of the insurgents. !
the course Of his protest against this
he said:
} Just think of General Grant takin
people in the south who remained neu
trail. in so far as they did not enSa2
in actual hostilities against the Amer
. can troops. and seiZing them and plac
ing them in front of the armies OF th
: United States as a shield 10 prote'
them and to receive the shots OF thos
who were seeking to defend what the
conceived TO be the right
Further on the senator asked VII
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