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
Of Ola's five or six hundred men, Judge Carson and I, assisted by
the chief prosecuting attorney of the government, Hon. James Ross,
turned several hundred loose. Another large batch were disposed of
under a vagrancy law, which allowed us to put them to work on the
roads of the provinces for not exceeding two years, usually six to
twelve months. Most of the remainder, a few score, we tried under the
sedition law, and sent to Bilibid, the central penitentary at Manila,
for terms commensurate with their individual conduct and deeds. The
more serious cases were sent up for longer terms under the brigandage
law. We indulged in no more maudlin sentiment about those precious
scamps who had been degrading Filipino patriotism by occasionally
invoking its name in the course of a long season of preying upon
their respectable fellow-countrymen than Aguinaldo or Juan Cailles
would have indulged. I am quite sure that either Aguinaldo or Juan
Cailles would have made much shorter shrift of the whole bunch than
Judge Carson and I did. It was only the men shown to have committed
crimes usually punished capitally in this country that we sentenced
to death--a dozen or more, all told. Ola was the star witness for the
state. He held back nothing that would aid the prosecuting attorney
to convict the men who had followed him for a year. He was given a
sentence of thirty years (by Judge Carson), as a sort of expression
of opinion of the most Christian attitude possible concerning his
real deserts, but his services as state's evidence entitled him to
immunity, and for that very good and sufficient reason Judge Carson,
Prosecuting Attorney Ross, and myself so recommended to the Governor.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account