Note 54 — Chapter XXVI · Murder As a Governmental Agency

Blount has alleged that Taylor “obtained no evidence convincing to him,” relative to the authorship of this order54 and that “a like investigation by General MacArthur in 1901 had a like result.” Whether he is ignorant of the facts as to the authentication of the authorship of this very important document, or chooses to ignore them, I do not know. Taylor in the end conclusively settled the matter, and so reported. Luna’s order,55 which was issued on February 7, 1899, provided for the massacre of all Americans and foreigners in Manila. The lives of Filipinos only were to be respected. All others, of whatsoever race, were to be given no quarter, but were to be exterminated, “thus proving to foreign countries that America is not capable of maintaining order or defending any of the interests which she has undertaken to defend.”