New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1902-08-11
LEAVES OF TP4S.
patronage

Der having seen recorded in cold type charge
so Observation-Disclosures that's the word-aS that
which the Lake George, imperialists have
brought against the United States Army. Inc
charge is nothing less than this, that orders
were given TO the troops not only to take no
prisoners. but to kill the wounded on the bat
tlefield Here is the exact language of the
"open letter.:
From the early beginning of operations there
II has been the general practice, II not aCtuaIly
the order to kill those wounded in conflict; ana
in this matter the depth of the general de-
moraliZation reached can perhaps pest ne
studied in the statement of an officer hlgh IN
command. when confronted with statistics I'M
deniably showing that the killed of the enemy
in all engagements with us largely outnumbered
the wounded and the prisoners combined, that
this unprecedented result-admttlng OF but one
eXplanation-was due to the fact that our sol
diers We're trained marksmen that they
almost invariably struck vital points; and more
over, that the FipinOs, even in panic flight
made a practice of carrying off their wounded
with them. Such evidence gravely given is not
only proof conclusive of utter mintary de-
moralization. but we submit, ii is with diff
hculty distinguished from what is usually
known as audacious mendacity.
There can be no doubt about the meaning of
this language. Otis, Macarthur Lawton, Chat
fee. Wheaton, Grant and others are here de-
iiberately accused of ordering the killing of the
wounded; and Otis and Macarthur, who testi-
in explanation of the proportion between those
killed and those wounded and captured in the
fights about Manila. are branded guilty Of
"audacious mendacity.' Intemperance of Ian
guage can be carried no further.
1t may be interesting. perhaps, to examine
little more closely the testimony given by Gen
eral Macarthur on this point. and referred 10
by the authors of the open letter. 1t was
elected in response to the questions of those
two argus eyed champions of Filipino indepen-
dence, Messrs. Patterson and Rawns. General
Macarthur had just read from field order No.
%, dated NIalolos, April 22. 1899:
When in hostile contact with the enemy an
adversary with arms in his hands must be killed
if possible: but a wounded or surrendered OPP
ponent who is incapable of doing injury is en-
titled to the most cordial courtesy and kindness
Any departure from the well established ameni-
ties of the battlefield or the laws of must
and will he punished. according to the nature
of the case. TO the full extent Of the law.
This was the opening" for which the two
Democratic statesmen had waited Immediate
ly they produced the records: "Enemy's loss:
KILLED, sol; wounded, IS; captured, 100. Our
Toss: Killed, 40; drowned g; wounded. 70
This was the summary for the year and they
wanted to know, of course, how the general
could account for such disproportion between
killed and wounded. 1T arises from the fact
replied General Macarthur. that our soldiers
know how to shoot the Filipino soldier does
mot" Then he went on to quote a significant
conversation which he had had with no less
person than the George Washington of the
Philippines" in the course of which that cut
throat patriot nnocently remarked: I'VE aimed
'at you apparently when you were very close,
but the American lines continued to advance
land no men fell Aside from this in
ability of the Filipino freshly taken from the
rice paddles and holding gun in his hands for
the first time, to shoot, General Macarthur
showed that the instruction had at the very
start an abundance of men and only a limited
number of arms. One of the great problems
in modern war, as everyb body knows, is TO sup
ply the firing line with ammunition This
problem the insurgents were able to solve adj
mirably under these conditions. The instant
man dropped dead or fell wounded there was
another to take his gun. without interfering in
the least with the ammunition supply or dimin-
ishing the activity of those charged with carry
ing off the wounded. To clinch the argument
General Macarthur showed that under ordinary
circumstances we should have captured at least
1000 or 1900 guns on the battlefelds around
Manila. AS a matter of fact scarcely ten guns
fell into the hands of our army in the fights
around Manila. We might add that in our
opinion, though 1t may not have much weight
the returns of Filipinos killed which were re-
ceived in the early days of the instruction
never inspired much confidence on the score Of
accuracy. On the one hand there was probably
no time for hunting Casualties" in the Jungle
or making an accurate count; on the other we
can understand perfectly well now, when re-
calling General Otis's sanguine predictions Of
an early collapse of the instruction that those
predictions had TO be backed on the part of
subaltern officers by equally sangune slaugh-
ter, or at least accounts of it. For making
such reports, however wes should hardly de-
scribe officers of the United States Army as
being guilty of "audacious mendacity."
All these facts were not only accessible to the
writers of the open letter." but known to
them. 1t is. indeed, this very testimony Of
General MacArthur's, and his reports, which
form the basis of the monstrous charge they
make. If upon so slender a foundation, and
after the analysis Of the casualty returns fur
nished by Generals Macarthur and Otis the
horrible accusation of an order to kill the
wounded on the battlefield can still stand or be
believed by any respectable number Of their
countrymen we should advise those soldiers to
break their swords and throw up their commits
sions. For the anti-imperialists of Lake George
we have nothing but pity. No mind, certainly,
that could conceive and formulate such charges
can be considered entirely responsible. There
must be something in anti-imperialism tending
to paresthesia
Students of the Napoleonic era in France, to
whom the enterprise Of the contractor cited is
a not unfamiliar piece of historical gossip, and
who, moreover. know their Milton. will uncon-
sciously recall the lines Thick as autumnal
leaves that strow the brooks of Vallombrosa."
The trees in that beautiful valley near Flor
ence. by the way. are pines, and, therefore, no
thick autumnal leaves ever strow the brooks of
that forest The fut1re Milton of anti-mperial-