The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-07-29
NO BACK.

danao has been taken in charge by
Captain Pershing in command OF the
American TROOPS at that point and is
being held as = hostage for the deliv-
cry Of those Aofos who in June last
captured two Americans. The sultan.
either unwilling or unable 10 PRODUCT
the k~idnappers, offered. in true bar
barfan style. 20 produce the dead
body OF a relative OF one OF
the Moro leaders and TO surrender
ten slaves. This did not satisfy the
demands OF American Justice. and the
sultan was SO Informed He then gave
orders for the production of the guilty.
men. One OF them was soon brought
into camp, his body badly mutilated,
and before his death from the5e woundsl
he confessed TO having part in
the adjustment of the Americans.
This is h class OF people that wei
nave for years to come got 10 keep uni
der subsection by military rule as con-
quered subjects-when We nave conf
quered them-give them home rule and
self-government as to local affairs orr
make them citizens Of the United
States. In the mean time we go on!
meeting their Lar5arious conduct in al
guerrilla warfare with counter acts of
cruelty.
In this connection il is reported that
he court-martial Of Lieutenant Hick-
a on trial on charges of cruelty tol
natives has ended in an acquittal.
Lieutenant Hickman was charged
with having duched in a pond three
natives who refused to conduct his
command to the stronghold of a guer-I
rilla leader, one Of the men dying FRONT
the effect of the treatment. In the trial.
the defense admitted all the specifca-l
tons in the charge, but objected 10 theI
word unlawful" used in the chargesI
as qualifying them and pleaded justi-I
Order No. 100 and d special telegraphicl
order from General Chaffee urgingI
extraordinary efforts in locating the
stronghold of this guerrilla chief.
Thus it is. the cruelties of bar
b%arians. carrying on a guerrilla war
fare. is met by an almost equally cruel
treatment from soldiers of the most
civilized nation in the world" and the
latter are upheld by their officers and
the administration on the principle of
a life for a life. all eye for an eye and a.
tooth for a tooth When his cruel
and the fierce tribes Of the outlying
islands of the archipelago are brought
under Subsection: we may reap the re-
ward of our eXertiOns. but at what
terrible sacrifice Of American blood
and treasure. to say nothing of the
Filipinos. Are the results worth the
sacrifice? Would it not have been bet
ter if we had left Cuba to her fate? Is
the independence Of Cuba, ever if we
annex her a. a part of the United
States. and the eventual peaceful occu-|
patton of the Philippines with all the|
commercial advantages to be derived
therefrom worth what it has cost us
IN life-blood of American citizens and
millions of money wrung from tbr peo-
pie by eXhorbitdnt war taxes? Had
the Americans seen in 1898, when they
were clamoring for armed intervention
in aid of Cuban independence, what
the results of that action would be,
would they have persisted in that
course? We firmly believe they would
have called a halt and let the Span
iards and the Cubans settle their own
fate. The American people forced
President Mckinley into a war. the re-
suits of which they took no thought
and which are now weighing so heavily
upon US: he though looked further into
the future Inc tried to stem the cur
rent of public sentiment. but to no
purpose.
There is no good to be obtained now,
though, in regretting our past con-
duct. We have put our hands to the
pillow and there is no looking backward.
AS we have Sown SO we must reap. The
only mani course is to endeavor to
make the best out Of present conditions
and to strive manfully to bring order
out of the chaos existing.