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Show Tortured Filipinos 4 . A Blood Curdling Story by a Reliable Witness. Tho Evening Post, the most conservative conserv-ative and reliable newspaper in New York, if not in the United States, publishes pub-lishes the following from its special correspondent at Manila: "Manila. P. I., Feb. It has been going the rounds here in Manila that an investigation has been made at la.st in the town Iuoag. province of North Ilocos. Isla-nd of Luzon, as to the beating beat-ing to dcatli of several natives there by the orders of the then Lieutenant Colonel Howze. Thirty-fourth United States volunteer infantry, then in command com-mand of the province of North Ilocos, and now by special favor of the president presi-dent a major of the Porto Rican regiment. regi-ment. This investigation anil bringing to light of some of the horrible doings under Lieutenant Colonel Howze is due to General Miles, who, having heard of the affair, sent an officer there whose principal instructions were not confined to covering and hiding thu truth, and hushing the matter. EVIDENCE OF HOWZE'S BARBARITIES BARBAR-ITIES COMPLETE AND CONCLUSIVE. CONCLU-SIVE. "Though some weeks have passed since the investigation was made, it was not until this writing that your correspondent has been able to get at the substance of that report and subsequent sub-sequent developments in the case. Witnesses from all over the province were examined by that officer, and they testified so nearly the same as to show that there was no collusion in their evidence. Indeed, they were summoned without knowing for what they were wanted. From them this officer, procured some thirty sworn affidavit., af-fidavit., and, based on these, he preferred pre-ferred charges against Lieutenant Colonel Howze. These charges passing-through the hands of General Davis, the latter offered another officer to go to the scene of the barbarities and procure the affidavits of two natives na-tives reported by the first investigator to have stated that they had been beaten. It is to be regretted that the instructions to the second officer limited lim-ited his investigations to procuring two affidavits, because there was much more evidence of the savage brutality of Howze which did not appear at the first to any one who can speak Spanish, Span-ish, and would not be dependent upon an interpreter for everything. A SAMPLE OF HOWZETS DOINGS. "Briefly stated, a mere sample of Howze's doing is as follows: About April 20, 1900, the town of Laoag, then occupied by United States troops, was attacked by Filipinos from the east side from the direction of a town called San Miguel. Before this there had been plenty of beatings of natives by Lieutenant Colonel Howze's orders, but this was the cause of the arrest of a large number of natives for the purpose of forcing confessions from them and discovering who the assailants assail-ants had been. Among this large number num-ber of arrested were two prominent citizens named Jose Ver, mayor of San Miguel, and Juan Avila, mayor of San Nicolas, another town near Laoag. The system of Howze for extorting confessions was to arrest the parties and put them in jail. They were then sent over to the municipal building and there questioned by three specially spe-cially selected men named Aguedo Agbayani (since deceased): his son-in-law, Pedro Valdez, and Isidoro Guerrero, Guer-rero, the last being mayor of Laoag at that time, and the first-named being be-ing the "civil adjutant" of Howze, regularly appointed as such by him. PRISONERS DIED FROM THEIR BEATINGS. The prisoners in this case, as in others, were question by these arch-questioners, arch-questioners, and. replying that they knew nothing as to who were the parties par-ties that made the attack on Laoag, they were beaten in the manner inaugurated in-augurated by Howze they were laid down on benches about ten inches wide, their trousers removed from their buttocks. They were then beaten beat-en by policemen standing on both sides of the bench, usually six policemen police-men three on a side using rattan rods about . three-quarter inch in diameter di-ameter and five feet long, with which they flailed the outstretched prisoner, using all their force with every blow, so that the buttocks were cut and gashed and the trousers shredded. Frequently the beatings produced insensibility, in-sensibility, and after them the prisoners pris-oners were .unable to. rise. In the cases in question, blood streamed from the gashes and bits of flesh were scattered scat-tered about the floor. "These two prisoners, after this first beating, were carried or led back to jail, and were brought the next day again before the three questioners, and, again saying that they knew nothing about the attack on Laoag, they were beaten again as before. This time neither of them was able to walk back to jail. They were carried car-ried back. Neither one was able to eat again, and in three days both died from their injuries. They were known to have been in good health before receiving their beatisus. and t her. arc those in Laoag who will so testify. The doctor of the p;tie town. Ratac, will testify that he was ,i prisoner at the same time with these two unfortunates, un-fortunates, and tiial he bathed tliew-wounds tliew-wounds after couiinc from their beatings, beat-ings, and he will t'si ty to their . bar-acter. bar-acter. Indeed, the jail record.-!, which, have not yet been put out of th" way. show that these two si,, u died "from no disease whatever'' (".--in endorme-dad endorme-dad nitiguna"). "These beatings were so awful that two of the army officers then at Laoag took courage- and wrote private letter.-! to the authorities regarding them. One? wrote a persona! letter Governor Taft, and the other wrote a personal letter to General Young, u ho w as tho next higher military commander, bit'. at a great distance away. The only action taken in regard to the matter was a telegram from (P n-ral Young to Howze, saying that if there wa.-i whipping going on at I.aoag it must bo stopped. Howze telegraphed back that there had been none except during two days while ho was absent from Laoag. These two telegrams have not yet been disposed of. "As to the two days of absence of Lieutenant Colonel Howze. immediately immediate-ly after the death f the two prisoner mayors three days after the second I beating, which caused thei- death . , there was a good deal of talk about these deaths and the cruelty of Howze. and the latter left Laoag for two days. During his absence Major Swigert mow colonel) of the Third cavalry had the. bodies exhumed-four days after death for examination, but the doctor who was to examine was the surgeon in Howze's regiment. The bodies were in such a state of putrefaction in this hot climate that no erne could examine or hardly approach them. It can be proved that all that this surgeon did .as to raise up a corner of the cloth covering the bodies and take nni i glance at them. From this he statd that he had examined the bodies, and that the prisoners did not die from their beatings. PUBLIC WHIPPINGS IN THE PLA7A. "There were also two public whippings whip-pings or beatings ordered by Lieutenant Lieuten-ant Colonel Howze. These took places : in the public plaza of -I.aoag in ti'c manner described above. From the effects ef-fects of one of these one pevir prisoner died the same night. He had been a captain in the revolutionary army , against Spain. John Merrill, then a private in company E or G (I have: been unable to find out which), and ' I now a teamster employed by the army quartermaster's department at Dagu- pan. was among many other soldier an eye-witness to the public whipping, so called, of this captain. He staU:-) that he was beaten and cut so badly that the blood streamed from hi.-s wounds, and that when h d away every step he took left bloody tracks, and that he was so injured that he could take steps of but three inches at a time, and that the poor wretch begged th-.' sentry to shoot him, saying in Spanish: Span-ish: "My death is of no importance. I am not going to confess." ("Mi muerte no importa. Yo no habio.") Merrill says, and others wiil say, fruit this beating was so terrible that :C made soldiers shed tears who stood by and watched it. The force with whici) the rods were applied to the- poor outstretched out-stretched prisoners, th" sounds of th 3 blows, the gashes. the streaming blood, and the suffering, quivering whetches were more than those hard- , . ened soldiers could endure. Their ex- ' clamations at the force and sounds o the blows showed that their hearts had yet a soft part to them, though commanded com-manded by a man more representative of-the North American savage than of , civilized white beings. WITNESSES OF CRUELTIES STILL AVAILABLE. "Most of the policemen now in Laoa? can and will testify to these beating mentioned and to many others it: which they were the ones that wielded the rattan rods (they cannot be called either whips or lashes). One of thesa j policemen was himself beaten for refusing, re-fusing, when ordered, to beat one of his relatives. "Witnesses at Laoag will testify that j it was no uncommon sight in the mu- , nicipal building in Laoag to see natives .! lying stretched out on benches, face down, with their buttocks bare, gashed and bleeding. They were at times beaten to insensibility. On one occasion occa-sion there were seen in that municipal building as many as twenty natives lying thus stretched out and bleeding, unable to rise. . "Although it is now two and a half, nearly three, years since the reign of this American savage at Laoag, native men have been examined there recently recent-ly who were beaten by the orders of this cruel whelp, and these men today bear the marks of those beatings. 1 (Continued on Page 3.) ' ; ; ' i ! ' Iff, I I - ' " ' ' ' frm-r. TORTURED FILIPINOS. ' i tinwd from Page 1.) ' -airer) witnesses are still avail-'-h'c- A' many others who were who have not been exam-'i exam-'i :: ars remaining. "Ho--.-, i. K graduate of West Point, i : !-,,:;) Texas, and is a cap-Sixth cap-Sixth cavalry: but. as above ''"'l iioids the temporary ap- '"''': of m-ijor in the Porto Rican ' ' oy "spe.-ial favor of President v"'yi- w lio se friend he is. He was ' ''; 1 ' S,;;iaw' by the cadets at r' l'o 'i-.. account of the cruel m-' m-' h- has. He has very few ". a y.-.g his fellow . officers who ' ' I'o have always considered "f c. coldest-blooded men in has heard a great ileal : vater cure' inuisitional Htusii.,,, v.hi.-h'was borrowed from v"' lri'-'"- Icit until recently it has K' in. is-nora n. of the fact that '." r"' -"i army oflicer invented and ' "'""' i ' . th" islands something , '"' ' . e e and barbarous, but ; vr iitaiivc of the North Amer- 'i e :-tj,,!1; now arit-ting are: Will rill,!'' f-l? What effort will be ht-,1,,1. ' ' xi,l'-n-e against him? Will t'isiu,'.'!1'"'" ''' tlK' i,rni"'' Vill he con-;i con-;i !'"-idoniial favorite".'" |