New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-10-02

ls99-l9yl, United StSNes SxyI,k a
rnsn svo. DO xix, ga. G. ?. Putnam's
Sons.
Mr.. Blount ought to be well informed
ON his subject, having served IN the
philippines In military and c'V'' W.
nsc,ties for six years. Also. because
OF b,s four years on the bench anu
because Of his ambition 10 do the "olA
Of q serious historian, he ought "
have the judicial temperament at leasV
su+Hc,ently 70 enable him to see' TO set
down and to give due weight to ootii
sides and all sides Of case Certaliiiy
we might reasonably expect 10 nio
such a disposition manifested ana SUE
= course pursued in Work oeai'Ne
enc title OF that before u.s. Hao NJ
called the volume THE New Flzail''
or Butchered to Make AailAee
! Colony" we should have been prepare"
Gov what we find between It's covers
As q IT, surely never did SO calm "
title mask so truculent a diatr'oe'
FOR. beginning with the cheeriui as
. suuption that whatever WEI
,yron1 he runs the whole gamut Oh
accommodation and leaves NOT eve"
T.rc.,ot brave. nor Galahad clean
IT Is true that in some cases. nN'
xu.ty Christopher, he mingies praiSe
with blame. Thus, President MchinieS
wss a "truly kind-hearted and Chris-
,,en gentleman" IN the praising o
vhom-by others-our author '"Nes
delight. Yet he accepted as truth ahu
redelivered to the American peOpie
.anmfferable drivel," was tricked ana
himself tricked others, and posed 10
aexterous performer on the poiitieai
! trapeze. Senator-then secretary
Root has an intellect the splenoor VI
wh,ch Is positively alluring, and is one
~ the foremost OF living American
! statesmen. II not indeed the foremost
: Yet he sought TO civilize the F1iipihoS
} With the Krag Gifie) after the manner
Of Pizarro or Cortez. and is danger
Gus man to republican institutions
/ president Taft has certainly deserved
md commanded the cordial esteem "
! the whole country and the respectrui
regard OF all mankind; yet he las
consistently misinformed and deceived
The American nation about the state
Of affairs in the Philippines, by oo'n
suppressio reri and Sng0esfto 'dtS''
Governor Wright was man or great
and noble heart; yet he deliberately
permitted a reign Of terror to preVali
IN samar, with outrages and massa-
cres. when ne could have stopped II az
any time he saw At. OF Professor D.
a. Worcester alone has he no gnoo
thing to say. True, he met him only
,nce hut then received from him q
distinct personal impression OF IAN
overbearing bully Of the oeggar-on-
horseback type; and he unqualihedly
pronounces his service In the ISLANDS
"the direst calamity that has befallen
the Filipinos sdnce the American occu-
patton, neither war. pestiience, fsmine'
RECOMMENDATION nor tariff wrought pow
srty excepted" But what else could
be expected Of a man who was orlgt-
naIly a professor of zoology, or some"
thing Of that sort, In Western uni
versity''-the University Of Michigan
Now Il might be argued that these
discriminating and temperate juds-
rnents Of men, giving each generally
the attributes OF both an angel and
devil, demonstrated the possession and
exercise Of the fine judicial disposi-
tion, the disappointing lack OF which
ve have suggested. But not so. For
this book Ia declared by It's writer to
be q discussion OF principles and poll
eiss. not of men. Therefore all these
psrsonai chsracterizations and "appre-
Citations" are mere obiter dictd, not az
sectins the req, substance Of the work.
And In dealing with principles and poll
cies, the swing Of his rhetoric IL all In
one direction. Our going into the
Philippines at all was q wicked thing,
because II we had not interviewed "a
republic would have been established
out there under the lead OF Aguinaldo,
Msbini and their associates, which
would have compared well with the
repu biican governments between the
United States and Cape Horn"-des-
Rite the fact that at the time OF our
intervention Aguinaldo was q fugitive
at Hong Kong and wanted to run way
20 Japan instead Of returning to Luzon
with Admiral Dewey. The whole sum-
mer's campaign in 1898 was an ini-
guilty. The proposition Of our Peace
Commissioners at Paris, that we should
take the whole archipelago, with free
hand, was vicious. and our consequent
Philippine policy has been "the one
great blunder Of our history" In in
exorable condemnation Of that blunder
Washington's Farewell Address, the
Monroe Doctrine and what not else are
called upon to bear witness.
Reference has already been made to
one of the chief topics In the book. the
troubles In Samar under Governor
Wright. They existed and continued.
according 20 Mr.. Blount, because Gov
ernor Wright persisted In dealing with
them by civil processes and by the
civil constabulary. instead Of calling In
the army and proclaiming military law;
and he did this because II was feared
that the renewal OF military operations
.uouId ,pfavorablv affect the Prest-