The American Occupation of the Philippines 1898-1912Blount, James H. (James Henderson)
History
The American Occupation of the Philippines 1898-1912
Blount, James H. (James Henderson)
Philippines -- History -- 1898-1946; Philippines -- Politics and government -- 1898-1935
to the army to take hold of the situation and give the people decent
protection. But to come to the incident above broached. Shortly after I
reached Albay, and set to work to hold Part II. of the district court,
while my colleague, Judge Carson, held Part I. we had a call from a
third judge, Judge Linebarger, of Chicago, who was on his way to some
other perturbed region. I think that by that time, late in November,
1903, Governor Taft must have known he was soon to leave the Islands to
become Secretary of War, and therefore was anxious to be able to make
the best showing possible, in his farewell annual report as Governor,
as to the "tranquillity" conditions. At any rate Judge Linebarger
came to see us, for a few hours, his ship having touched en route at
the port near the provincial capital of Albay. Judge Carson had had a
gallows erected near the public square of the town, for the execution
of some brigand he had convicted, whether it was for maltreating some
poor farmer's daughter until she died, or burying an American alive,
or what, I do not now recollect. But in going around the town some
one suggested, as we passed this gallows, that we go up on it to
get the view. So we went--the three of us. Then each looked at the
other and all thought of the work ahead. Then Judge Carson smiled
and dispelled the momentary sombreness by repeating with grim humor,
an old Latin quotation he happened to remember from his college days
at the University of Virginia: Haec olim meminisse juvabit ("It will
be pleasant to remember these things hereafter").
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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