Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 12.pdf/242

 War Claims— American Occupation of the Philippines. 215

WAR CLAIMS ARISING FROM THE AMERICAN OCCUPATION OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. BY W. F. MORRIS, COUNSEL FOR THE GOVERNMENT, MANILA. T EGAL questions of a very interesting -L* character, are frequently presented for solution before the board of officers, now sit ting in the city of Manila, for the purpose of passing on claims against the United States arising from our occupation of these islands. As might be expected, claimants of all classes came before the board, asking for relief, in amounts varying from $ I oo to over $ 1 00,000. A poor native woman prays compensation for a Cariboo cow, or her little stock of silver, stolen by American soldiers or native ladrones. A rich Chinaman or an English company demand damages for a distillery or a warehouse with its contents destroyed byfire. Claims of the latter class involve some very interesting, as well as intricate legal questions/of a political as well as judi cial nature, as well illustrated by the case of Louis Aaeng Vismanoz Ong Queco, now pending before the board of claims. The claimant referred to is a Chinaman, bom in Amoy, still owing allegiance to the Empress of China, although most of his life has been passed in these islands. ( It may be well to remark here, that- the laws of Spain prohibited a Chinaman from becoming a Spanish subject.) The distillery of which he was owner was situated in a suburb of the city of Malolas, known as the Barrio of Taglag, and on a small stream called the Taglag river. On the 3ist of March, Malolas was captured by our troops, and in a large meas ure destroyed by fire during the engagement, the suburb of Taglag remaining uninjured. After the capture of the city a guard was posted at a bridge over the river, in the im mediate vicinity of the distillery. The pres ence of this guard served as a protection to the building. On the 27th of April, a gen eral advance was ordered by General Mc-

Arthur; as a consequence the guard was re moved to a point some three miles distant, and, shortly after, the distillery was burned to the ground, either by ladrones, the crimi nal class of the community, or by United States soldiers, acting with or without the authority of their superior officers. Shortly before the destruction. of the building, the commanding officer of the troops stationed at the bridge had been requested to place a guard for the protection of the distillery, which he had declined to do, for the reason that he could not spare the men. A large quantity of vino, or high wines, stored in the building, the property of the owner of the distillery, was destroyed by the commanding officer, for the reason that the same was pro ducing drunkenness and disorder, the build ing and its contents having been abandoned by the owner and his employees, the people having in consequence free access to the liquor. The owner of the property comes before the board with a claim of $100,000 based on the existence of a state of facts, substantially as above set forth, the question to be de termined being : Is an alien resident of the Philippine Islands entitled to recover dam ages from the United States, for his property, destroyed during active military operations, either by the insurgents, or our own troops, the latter acting with or without the orders of their superior officers? We think the following well established as propositions of international law : That for his property destroyed in " the track of war " a citizen of neither belligerent can re cover compensation; that in this respect the status of a resident alien is the same as that of the citizen, possessing the same rights of recovery and no more; that no cause of ac