The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1912-11-30

To my query whether there had been
many misdeeds on the part of the sol
diers, he quietly answered that there
had been very few. There are dread
full deeds, of course, when men un-
sheath the sword, but of dishonorable
acts, or unprovoked cruelty, there was,
as far as I know, very much less than
we were told. Personally, I have no
reason to believe that any direct and
conscious act of sacrilege was ever
done by an American soldier in the
Philippine Islands There was some
violence done to few priests-very
few-because they refused to reveal
the whereabouts of their insurrection-
list countrymen, but some of these
priests were, I think, Aglipayan schis-
matics
What, then, of the picture of the
American soldiers installing their field
telegraph on the altar of the churches,
with the wires coiled round the taber-
nacles? And what of the vestments
and other sacred things brought back
or sold by the returning combatants? !?
The answer or explanation is easy.
The desecration, or at least military
occupation, of the churches began with
the Fflipinos themselves. The Kati-
punan, or insurrecto leaders, began by
robbing the church moneys. I know
one, who enjoyed the style and title of
General, who robbed the churches of
his native island to the amount of
about 100000 pesos (the peso is fifty
cents). The insurrectionists frequent
ly occupied the churches as the strong
est places Of defence. Trenches would
have been better, but the men whose
chief arm was their bolo, or long
knife, were not soldiers. The dislodg-
ing of these by the American troops
entailed the running of the churches in
many instances, and when the sacred
edifices were not ruined they were
often the only available refuge for the
victorious soldiers. The Blessed Sac
rament had, of course, been removed,
and I imagine the troops found few
vestments or other things of value re-
naming. The altar, probably broken,
was in many instances the only con-
venient site for the telegraph instru-
ments.
One has to go to the Philippine
Islands, and travel through them, and
inquire carefully of reliable witnesses,
to know how false were the stories
told about the soldiers and how much
more so were the stories regarding the
Friars. These latter were considered
to be foes and were treated accord
ingly. My acquaintance with the sol
diers in the Philippines raised very
decidedly my esteem Of them. Barring
some remarkable exceptions, they
were somewhat Indifferent to religion.
This, believe, is the worst that can
be said of them. But as soldiers, they
stand high, I am convinced, amongst
the soldiers of the world.
In the foregoing the missionary
speaks of the soldiers of the regular
army, who were under strict military
discipline, and among whom looting
and wanton destruction of property
and unnecessary occupation of church
es would not be tolerated by the off,
GERS. 1t is conceded that whatever
looting was done by the American sol
diers in the Philippines, it must be
charged against the volunteers, who
could not be so easily kept in check
by those in command. That there was
looting, and lots of it, cannot be
denied; but it was not done by the
regular soldiers.