The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1859-02-17
IL
THE ACQUISITION OF CUBA.

~ V'''cos" any CiioIt Hluuo wv ~
QUESTION Of this much-nccded island
and Senator Slidcll deserves great
praise for his efforts in this respect
As to the means which shall be USED
in order 10 get it, that is a sccondar,
consideration. Whenever il becomes
necessary 70 our national welfare, am
mean almost is ju5tifablc. Let ny
purchase il if we can, at a yc0sORQblc
price, but any way, let US have it,
No reasonable objection can be urged
against this position. Our exports to
that island amounted for the fiscal
year, ending June 80, 1853, in value,
10 about $If,433,l while our
imports exceeded that amount about
$l3,O00,000, during the same period.
If the island were ours, the exports
and imports could be made 10 balance
and thus We should not be compelled
TO pay SO enormous an amount for tho
sustenance Of t%yrannical, insulting
old Spain. whose power is fast on the
wane.
But they say that England and
France object to our having Cnba! -
What if they Do? Have they as
much interest at stake as wc havc?-
They are well aware that Cuba must
soon either belong to themselves orto
the United States. Span will o o
be compelled to give it up. And it il
only because twas incxpcdicnt to
take her that Cuba has inns far re-
manned free from the clutches Of somc
European power like France or Eng
land. They lorcsaw well enough that
the United States, though slow to be
insultcd and slow 10 resent ono when
offered, would not submit to an nc.
QUESTION Of Cuba by another power
than herself. Consequently, they
cry out for Spain to own Cnba. And
WHO are these Cyicnds to Cuba? Eng.
land and Francc-two nations stand
ing in awe of one another, seeking to
devour and dcsolatc any weak power
they can, yet avoiding II personal col
ltDtnn lD,nu,Ju,c hnl l,,r h,,t, |
never suffered at their hands, She
may console herself if She will exam
inc her history from 1865, when NAL
ia surrendered to knights ofSt. John.
up to 1925, when Mexico was fnalIy
lost. Thus for nearly 400 years has
the power Of Spain been lcSScning
and France and England been Eatlcn-
ing upon her wasting possessions
And yet these two last named coun.
tries now come forward and mcnac-
ingIy cry ont for the protection Of
Cuba. Who seized Louisiana in 1900!
And now France would have us let
alone an island of as much impor-
lance to US as was Louisiana when
purchased territory and ad-
ded it TO the common COUNTRY
That report of SIidell's very justly ira :
ccs the idea Of tho acquisition Of Gu
ba TO that progressive viSor and cx-
pansiyc energy Of the West which, =
for more than half n century, have :,
due on, like the waters Of the =
Mississippi river, Southwark and Gu :,
and never known retiring
In the language Of the report :,
"The purchase and annexation Of Vt
louisiana led, as q necessary c~orolla. |"
y, to that of Florida, aud both point a
with unerring certainty TO the acqui- !,
sition OF Cuba. The sparse and fec [,
bic population Of what is now the Il
Great West called in 1900 for The nay. :
Of the Mississippi, and the en- It
'orccmcnt Of the right OF deposit at 81
New Orleans. In three years not on h
y were these privileges secured, but n
he whole Of the magnificent domain ~
# Louisiana was ours. Who now
tho wisdom Of n measure "
which, at the time, was denounced Il
With a violence until then unparal. W
c'led in IL political history
From the day VIC acquired Louisi.
ma the attention of our ablcst states a,
men was fixed on Cuba. What the g,
possession of the mouth of the Mis- Il
had been to the people of the liz
Nest, that of Cuba became 10 the lh
To cast tho eye upon the map sit
vas sufficient 10 predict its destiny be
! brief reference will show the i'm. wi
'ortance attached TO tho question by to
ur leading statesmen, and the stcadi- re.
ess and perseverance with which re,
iey have endeavorcd TO hasten the
Dnsummation of so vital u measure" Mt
The New Orlean Delta comes out
,ldly and properly, and says, in the vi
,urse of an able article oil
There is no need for the American pr
.ople TO parade an affected modera.
,u or a mawkish delicacy on the sub.
ct Of acquiring Cuba. or any other ~
.%rrritory that may lie in tho pathway o'
their progress and within the propl,- ~
lie shadow Of their destiny. There II
no need for the American Govern. o'
nent to initiate the tortuous courses W.