We believe the despatches incorrectly represent the existing conditions among the Filipinos in respect to internal dissension and demoralization resulting from the American campaign and to the brigand character of their army.
We believe the despatches err in the declaration that “the situation is well in hand,” and in the assumption that the insurrection can be speedily ended without a greatly increased force.
We think the tenacity of the Filipino purpose has been under-estimated, and that the statements are unfounded that volunteers are willing to engage in further service.
The censorship has compelled us to participate in this misrepresentation by excising or altering uncontroverted statements of facts on the plea that “they would alarm the people at home,” or “have the people of the United States by the ears.”
The men of the pen had been so long under military rule and had seen so much of courts-martial that their document savored of military jurisprudence. After making the above charges, it set forth what it called “specifications.” These were:
Prohibition of hospital reports; suppression of full reports of field operations in the event of failure; numbers of heat prostrations in the field; systematic minimization of naval operations; and suppression of complete reports of the situation.
The paper was signed by John T. McCutcheon and Harry Armstrong, representing the Chicago Record; O. K. Davis and P. G. MacDonnell, representing the New York Sun; Robert M. Collins, John P. Dunning, and L. Jones, representing the Associated Press; John F. Bass and William Dinwiddie, representing the New York Herald; E. D. Skeene, representing the Scripps-McRae Association; and Richard Little, representing the Chicago Tribune. Mr. Collins, the Associated Press representative, wrote his people an account of this whole episode, which was also given wide publicity. After describing the committee’s interview with the General down to a certain point, he says:
But when General Otis came down to the frank admission that it was his purpose to keep the knowledge of conditions here from the public at home, and when the censor had repeatedly told us, in ruling out plain statements of undisputed facts, “My instructions are to let nothing go that can hurt the Administration,” we concluded that protest was justifiable.
Collins had written what he considered a conservative review of the situation in June, saying reinforcements were needed. Of the suppression of this he says:
The censor’s comment (I made a note of it) was: “Of course we all know that we are in a terrible mess out here, but we don’t want the people to get excited about it. If you fellows will only keep quiet now we will pull through in time[45] without any fuss at home!”