Arizona republican., 1903-04-08
Powerful Enemies After Bellairs--an
 Wood.

Wood.
 It is now very clear that when MT. Edgar G. Bellairs, formerly captain ;n the British army, and until recently chief correspondent of the Associated Press in the Philippines wrote and published his book, "As It Is in the Philippines, he stirred up powerful enemies who will not stop until they have exhausted every effort to crush him completely. The New York Sun of April savagely follows up the editorial of the day before, reference to which was made in these columns yesterday.
 The Sun makes no concealment of it's ernor Taft from Bellairs' criticism, anl it evidently considers that the most effective way to meet these criticisms is to destroy Bellairs himself if that can be done. Incidentally, our New York contemporary is delighted, plain ly, to put General Leonard Wood, the war department, General Chaffee and other army officers in a hole by making them responsible for Bellairs.
 In order to destroy Bellairs, the Sun devotes two columns of vigorous editor ial to showing that the author of ''As It Is in the Philippines is an unmiti- gated scoundrel. The charges, some of which the Sun admits originate with the New York Evening Post are of such gravity that we shall not print them until Captain Bellairs has had an opportunity to refute them. According to the Sun and the Evening Post, Bel lairs is not his right name, and he has a worldwide reputation as a swindler.
 It is but just to Captain Bellairs to say that he called at the editorial rooms of The Republican yesterday, when ad- vised of the Suns sensa tional charges and made a general denial. He volun- teered to produce, within a very few cence, and evidence which will estab- fish that the Sun and the Evening Post are confused as to his identity taking him for somebody who is an interna- tional swindler-or regardless of his in nocence are trying to crush him. He added that he would begin damage suits immediately against both papers. It is only fair that the public judgment had opportunity to present his side of the case. Following its policy of fair ness toward the high and the low, the fortunate and the unfortunate, The Re publican has refused to print, and will refuse to print. special dispatches from the east which merely echo the charges already made but which throw no light on the question of guilt or innocence.
 When the BeIlairs book was first re- viewed in this paper We did not sus- pect that the volume would have such far-reaching consequences. But 1t cannot be doubted now that most unfortunate and bitter controversy be tween the friends of Governor Taft on the one side, and the friends of Gen. eral Wood, General Chaffee, the war department and the Roosevelt admin istration on the other, has been begun We feel certain that the beginning of this controversy cannot be charged to Leonard Wood, to Adna R. Chaffee. to Elihu Root, or to Theodore Roosevelt That either of them would do Governor Taft an injustice we do not believs Nor is it clear that Governor Taft Is responsible for the covert attacks or Wood, the war department and the ad ministration But the facts developei so far are in this sequence.
 A brief and colorless review of tht Bellairs book is printed in The Republi- can. in which the world is informet