Adams County news. [volume] (Ritzville, Wash.) 1898-1906, 1902-03-12

condition or AFFAIRS in the islands.
The army has been doing as much
good as it could under the circum-
stances.
when Manila was surrendered to
Dewey and Merritt, some thousands
Of Spaniards 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 uncon-
trollable mob known as Aguinaldo's
army would have been the blacklist
page of American history and that a
thousand years of repentance and res
titution would not have satisfied"
Beginning Of the War.
General Funston then told in min
ute detail of the instances which led
to the warfare between the American
army and the insurgents, and during
the narrative told of the shooting of
several sentries by Filipino scouts
who had passed the lines. He said
that in the opening of the battle be
tween the army and the insurgents,
Major Metcalf of the First Kansas
"egiment had come to his quarters
and said: THE dance has begun"
what dance? l asked, and the
major replied: Go out and hear it,
and l went out and heard the patter-
ing of rifle balls, and that was the be-
ginning of the war over there"
General Funston then said: "All
sorts of men get into the army
They are good. bad and Indifferent,
but | believe that So per cent Of the
American soldiers are a brave and
humane lot of men. The other S
ser cent who have been writing let
-ers to newspapers have ornamented
The inside Of a groghouse longer
than they have distinguished them
selves in the field"
General Funston then mentioned
several instances of personal bravery
If men in the army which resulted
IN their death, including Captain God
Trey and Sergeant O'Brien. He was
present when Sergeant O'Brien was
shot, and said: ut was one of those
wild moments that are worth 10 years
of hulndrum existence" His listen
ers cheered the remark.
Then General Funston said: "All
Of those men who have fallen since
December, 1900, have been victims of
a lot of misinformed and misguided
people here in the United States. 1t
is perfectly proper for us to have all
sorts Of opinions as to- what we should
do with the Philippine islands, but
for heavens sake, let us keep them to
ourselves until every square inch of
that territory recognizes the sover-
eighty of the United States"
General Funston then gave many
examples to show that the Filipino
leaders were not true patriots. He
mentioned the Staying of Antonio
Luna, who was ordered slain by
Aguinaldo. General Funston said
that Aguinaldo had told him in re
gard to Luna's death: 4 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 patriots
who could not be convicted Of murder
if he was tried by jury. He declar-
ed that there had never been a war
in the worlds history where the sol
diers had shown such humanity as
had the American troops in the Philip
pine islands. He then told of "a
American soldiers who had Joined the
Filiuinos and who were afterwards
captured 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
Jorgensen rifles. would rather see
these men hanged for treason than to
see one Of our soldiers dead on the
field of battle"
The general then declared the
Filipinos could not be classed with
the Cubans, and he said that If the
United States troops should now
leave the Philippine islands there
would be half dozen different kinds
of civil war there, and the world
would hold the United States re-
sponsible for them.
The general said he talked with
Aguinaldo on their way back to Manila
from the Vicksburg and that Aguin-
aldo told him that neither Dewey nor
any one else had promised him any
thing, but that he and his people had
faith in the Americans.
General Funston called on Prince
Henry in the afternoon at the princes
apartments and the two chatted for
almost an hour.