Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-05-16
Excuse Without Foundation.
"fIeadouarters of the Army.

1.-THE attention of your entire command
is directed to paragraph 16. general orders,
No. 100, War Department, A. G. O.. April
"a, 1863, which will be strictly complied
with
1.-The excuse that the unusual conditions
justify the measures herein condemned is
without foundation and cannot prevail. The
lieutenant general Is gratified to know that
very great many officers of the army,
including yourself, of high rank, great ex-
perience and most commendable records, as
well as those occupying subordinate posi-
tons. with their commands. have in the
prosecution of hostilities In the Philippines
effectively conducted their military opera
tions without resorting to any of the
methods prohibited by the rules of civilized
warfare and attained the best results
thereby rejecting the highest credit and
honor upon themselves, their commands,
the army and the nation.
'It is the duty of the army to preserve
unsullied the high character 1t has main
tanned for more than century. and it is
gratifying to know that majority of the
officers and soldiers have upheld that
standard under all circumstances. 1 have
MARION p. MAUS,
Lieutenant Colonel, de-Camp."
1t will be observed that no names were
mentioned but subsequent correspondence
required a special report, which was ac-
cordingly made.
The object of the order was not only to
rescind any injurious. orders that might
have been issued, eitherSy verbal or written,
mission of any such offetises in the future
You will also Observe that the order does
not criticise or condemn the acts of a sim
gle American soldier. -
During the eight years that I have oc-
cupied my present position have issued
but few orders of a general character, and
those had for their object the general wei
fare of the army. No one can have a moro
Gov 1rnff fho,~
Not Regarded as, Enemies.
''The officers of the law who arrested,
tried. convicted and executed a thereto
fore honored member OF the faculty of
Harvard College who had committed a
great crime were not called the enemies
of Harvard nor was the honor of that
institution involved for smirched by the
punishment of an unworthy professor.
The authorities who prosecuted and con-
demned Tweed and his associates were
not accounted the enemies of New York
or as those who smirched its honor The
postoffice officials who are now invesu-
eating alleged offenses are not enemies
OF the administration or OF the department.
I'm the greatest and bloodiest of all wars,
covering four years and in which were en-
gagged three millions of brave men never
heard of single case of human torture,
and those who falsely assert that 1t was
practiced insult alike those who wore the
blue and the gray.
For a hundred years the army has been
waging war against savage Indians-and
there is no namable atrocity that at some
time some Indian did not commit-but
retaliation in kind. and violence toward
captive and surrendered Indians have al
ways been prohibited
"It is idle to assume that campaigning
in the Philippines has conditions that war
parture from the honorable method of con-
Quoting warfare, nor that such departures