ADAMS TO ROOSEVELT, SEPTEMBER 6, 1902
APPENDIX B
Boston, September 6, 1902.
Hon. THEODORE ROOSEVELT,
President of the United States, Washington, D. C.
SIR: On the 22d (23d) July we, as a committee, forwarded to you a communication relating to your "review" of the 14th of the same month, as Commander in Chief of the Army, of the findings of the court-martial in the case of Gen. J. H. Smith. In that communication we expressed our readiness and wish to cooperate, in so far as was in our power, in furthering your instructions in what is known as the "Chaffee memorandum" of April 15, to the effect that you "desired a most thorough, searching, and exhaustive investigation," and that "no effort should be spared to uncover every case" of outrage or violation of the law of civilized warfare "which may have occurred, and bring the offenders to justice." We further said that we held ourselves ready to "direct your attention to concrete cases, the investigation of which would demonstrate the following criminal acts, contrary to all recognized rules and usages of war, on the part of officers and soldiers of the United States:
1. Kidnapping and murder, under circumstances of aggravated brutality.
2. Robbery.
3. Torture, both of men and of women, and rape of the latter.
4. The infliction of death on other parties, on the strength of evidence elicited through torture.
No reply to this communication has reached us.
In the course of a speech made by you at The Weirs, N. H., on the 28th of August, you are reported to have said: "The Army, which has done its work so well in the Philippine Islands, has * * * been cruelly maligned, even by some who should have known better. * * * The temptation to retaliate for the fearful cruelties of a savage foe is very great, and now and then it has been yielded to. There have been a few, and only a few, such instances in the Philippines, and punishment has been meted out with unflinching justice to the offenders."
On all of these points we desire most respectfully to say we take direct issue with you. As the result of a careful review of what has been written and said on the subject, we assert that the Army has not been maligned, "cruelly" or otherwise, certainly, by us, nor, so far as we have been able to ascertain, by any "who should have known better," unless the statement of facts admitting of direct proof can be so characterized; the "instances" in question have not been few, and many such have been for military purposes, not for retaliation; nor in many, and in some glaring, and even notorious, cases, has "unflinching justice" been meted out to the offenders. And all this we are prepared to demonstrate before any unprejudiced tribunal competent to summon witnesses and compel the production of papers.
A preliminary statement in support of the above contention is now in course of preparation, and will be forthwith submitted for your information, should you call on us for it. A more detailed statement, accompanied by a body of evidence, will be made public by us later. Meanwhile, as our general offer to direct attention to concrete cases has not been favorably considered, we wish to call attention to a single instance of unpunished outrage, as a specific and test case. If conditions are such that unprejudiced inquiry can not be made in this case, and justice meted out accordingly, it is useless for us to call attention to other cases.
To the case now specifically set forth, we made reference in our communication to you of July 23. We there said it had, some months ago, been brought to the attention of the chairman of the Senate Philippine Committee, the Hon. Henry Cabot Lodge, and an investigation urged. An investigation was by him promised, but no steps to that end were taken, and, so far as appears, the "Father Augustine" incident was never brought to your notice or to that of the Senate committee. No
COURTS-MARTIAL IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 97
disposition has been shown in any official quarter to inquire into it. From the evidence submitted, it would appear to have been a case of peculiar atrocity, involving, apparently, the crimes of kidnapping, torture, murder, and robbery.
Feeling that a mere knowledge of an occurrence of this sort, unaccompanied by any attempt to bring the offenders to justice, amounts to a practical misprision of murder, we have submitted the facts, as they have come to our knowledge, to counsela in order to ascertain if any measures initiated by us would be calculated to further the ends of justice.
Herewith we hand you the statement of factsb set forth in the communication to our counsel referred to,a as also their reply.c
We earnestly commend the papers to your consideration.
We have the honor to be, etc.,
CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS,
C. SCHURZ,
EDWIN BURRITT SMITH,
HERBERT WELSH,
Committee.
aSee Adams to Story & Codman, Appendix C, post.
bSee Appendix D, post.
cSee Story & Codman to Adams, Appendix E, post.