Daily new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1897-1906, 1902-05-20
Corporal o'Brien Says This
Was Unwritten Command TO
Soldiers In Philippines.
OFFICERS COT INTOXICATED.
insulted Women-Dum-Dum Bullets
Were Used, He Alleges, and Old
Men Murdered-Two Shot Down
Under Flag of Truce.

Corporal Richard O'Brien, of North
Adams, Mass, of Company NJ,
Twenty-sixth volunteers, who served
in the Philippines for Is months, was
before the senate committee ON the
Philippines yesterday. His testimony
was in part:
He said he had been present at
Igbaras when the water cure was adj
ministered to the presidente of that
town. There was" he said, "a
Spanish woman in the town--a wom-
an OF education--who was violated by
the American officers. Senator
Lodge asked for the names of the of
feers. These, the witness said, he
could not give, adding that he had not
witnessed the incident, but that the
woman's husband was his authority
for the statement.
Democrats Objected to Hearsay
Senator Rawlins and Senator Pat
terson objected to the testimony as
mere hearsay, and urged that it
should not go into the record. The
witness then was asked if he could
not give further proof of the correct
ness of his charge. In response he
said that at San Joaquin the presi-
dente of that place gave a reception,
to which a number of native women
were invited from Iloilo. They
were" he said, above the average
not peasant women"
Among those present were Captain
Mcdonald, Lieutenant Plummer, of
Company NJ, and Major Cook The
witness said these officers became in
toxicated and while in that condition
threw off all their clothes except
| their undershirts and their trousers,
and catching the women about the
waists insisted on their Waiting with
| them, much to the disgust of the
women. This he saw.
Further questioning brought out
the fact that O'Brien had not been on
good terms with Captain Mcdonald.
This was due, he said, to the fact
that Mcdonald had failed to issue the
rations due to his men. He believed,
though he had no proof, that the Of
fieer had sold the rations which
should have been issued to the men.
He went on to say that there was
price on the captains head, offered
by the insurgents, because of the Of
| ficer's eruelties. Witness had seen
him strike a Filipino prisoner over
the head with revolver and said
! that the water cure was administered
to the same prisoner after he had
| taken the oath of allegiance.
O'Brien related the particulars of
the capture of the town of Lo Nag, in
the province of Panay. AS the
! troops approached the town they saw
at distance native boy on a cara
| boo and one of the men fired a shot
at him, but as his bullet failed to hit
| its object others also fired, himself
| included. At first the witness said
he had fred in obedience to orders
and then said that there had been no
| orders to fire.
Natives Shot Down Under Truce.
This shooting" he proceeded.
| brought the people to their doors,
and among those who came ont was
an old man who was shot in the alb
| domen ana afterwards died Later,
while the firing was in progress, two
other old men, between the ages of
so and 20, | should say, came out to-
ward us, hand in hand, bearing a
white flag. Both were shot down,
and the sergeant reported to Captain
Mcdonald that he had killed two
more 'niggers.' Another case was
that of woman and two children,
one in her arms, who were killed and
then burned up in their house"
| O'Brien said that when the COM
pany was out marching single file at
night in the mountains the order
came back along the line to take
no prisoners, but he didn't know who
| issued the order In case there was
fighting the natives either fed or
were killed.
The witness also told of the exeeu-
ton of the bandit Pedro Gargamo at
the town of Guimal, for which, he
said, Mcdonald was tried by court
martial. He said it was common
! talk that before Gargamo was killed
he was struck on the back of the
head with a bolo.
The witness said it was an "un-
written law out there to take no
prisoners"
Dum-Dum Bullets Used.
He said dunn dunn" bullets were is
sued in the regular way with other
ammunition. He had seen them strike
a man and take the top of his head
off. He could not tell whether it was
one of his own comrades or a native.
Answering questions as to the
burning of a women and two children
he said the woman was in a bamboo
shack and appeared at the door or the
window. No effort was made to res
cue her, because it would have been
impossible, although she came to the
door while the shack was burning.
In answer to Senator McComas, he
said that his company occasionally
took prisoners that were not killed
He had seen many prisoners held by
other commands and they were all
being treated kindly and were not be-