The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1902-03-13
FUNSTON TALKS WAR
In Banquet Speech Kansan Fires
Some Sizzling Shot.
GUEST new YORK LOTUS CLUB
Goes Into Details Regarding the Cause
of Hostilties In the Philip
pines.-Raps "Traitors"
In America.

Brigadier General Frederick Fun
ston was the guest of honor at din
ner given Saturday night at the Lotus
Club in New York City. More than
300 members of the club were present
General Funston made a speech, in
which he said:
When Manila was surrendered to
Dewey and Merritt some thousands OF
SraDiards were in the city. In the
eyes Of the world these people looked
to US for protection, and to have
turned them over to the uncontrolia-
he mob known as 'Aguinaldo's army
would have been the blacklist page OF
American history; one that thous-
and years of repentance and restitu-
ton would not have satisfied.
General Funston then told in min
ute detail of the instances that led
to warfare between the American ar
my and the insurgents, and during the
narrative told of the shooting OF sew
eral sentries by Filipino scouts who
had passed the lines. He said that on
the opening of the battle between the
army and the insurgents, Major Met
calf, of the First Nebraska regiment,
had come to his quarters, and said:
"The dance has begun
What dance?" I asked, and Ma
jor Metcalf replied: go out and hear
it," and went out and heard the put
tering of rife balls, and that was the
beginning of the war over there"
General Funston then said:
''All sorts of men get into the army.
There are good, bad and Indifferent,
but l believe that 95 per meet. OF the
American soldiers are a brave and
humane lot of men. The other 5 per
cent, who have been writing letters
to newspapers, have ornamented the
inside Of grog house for a longer
time than they have distinguished
themselves in the field"
"All of those men who have fallen
since December, 1900, have been the
victime of a lot of misinformed and
misguided people here in the United
States. 1t is perfectly proyer for US
to have all sorts of opinions as to what
We should do with the Philippine is
lands, but for heavens sake, let us
keep them to ourselves until every
square inch Of territory recognizes the
sovereignty OF the United States"
General Funston then gave many
examples to show that the Filipino
leaders were not patriots. He men
toned the Staying of Antonio Luna,
who was ordered slain by Aguinaldo.
General Funston said that Aguinaldo
had told him in regard to Luna's
death:
II had him killed simply because
he would have been dictator instead
of myself"
would you imagine George Wash
ington doing anything like that?"
asked General Funston.
The general said there was not one
of the so-called Filipino patriot who
could not be convicted of murder If
he was tried by a jury. He declared
that there had never been a war in the
worlds history where the soldiers had
shown such humanity as had the
American troops in the Philippine is
lands.
Traitors In America.
He then told of twenty-four AmerI-
can soldiers who had joined the Fill
ipinos and who were afterward capt
ured and executed as traitors, and
then said:
There are many men in the United
States who did more with their mouths
and minds to aid the insurgents than
did these poor men with their Krag-
Jorgensen rifles. l would rather see
those men hanged for treason than
to see cne of the soldiers dead on the
field of battle
The general then declared that the
Filipinos could not be classed with the
Cubans, and he said that if the United
States could now leave the Philippine |
islands there would be half a dozen
different kinds of civil wars there,
and that the world would hold the !
United States responsible for them.
The general said he talked with Ag- |
uinaldo on their way back to Manila
on the Vicksburg, and that Aguinaldo |
told him that neither Dewey nor any
one else had promised. him anything,
but that he and his people had faith |
IN the Americans.