The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-08-13
SPIRIT OF THE PRESS.
L ditOriaI Opinions of the Leading Journals
Upon Current Topics Compiled Every
Dny for the Evening Telegraph
GRANT AND CUBA.


with which the London Times supports what
II seems to imagine to be the designs of the
limited States on Cuba Certainly, nothing
could be more amusingly brazen than the way
in which the Times denounces Spain as stupid
and imbecile for her ''meddling in the New
World'-the said "meddling' being neither
more nor less than an attempt of the Spanish
Government to put down an insurrection in
Cuba. precisely as the English Government,
not very long ago, put down an insurection
in Canada.
If ANYTHING could make Americans more
than doubtful as to the eXpediency of eXerting
a hostile pressure upon Spain for the purpose
of compelling the annexation of Cuba to the
Union, it should certainly be the extreme
eaperness shown by such journals as the
Tj5ges to see the United States setting them
selves to that work. Cuba, wrenched from
the grasp of Spain 10y our arms would pretty
surely come to us in a condition which would
make the island economically speaking,
worthless. and, politically speaking, worse
than worthless, to us for many long year
TO come. The only really wise and really
honorable action which our Government can
take in this matter the WoHd has already
pointed out to be the exercise OF our
friendly influence with Spain on the one
hand and with Cuba on the other, to bring
about a calm and peaceful settlement of the
status of the island by negotiations between
the people of the colony and the people of
the metropolis We have also, unfortunately,
been forced to chronicle the practical failure
of the first attempts of our Government in
this directon-a failure due to the worse
than folly Of President Grant in forcing
scoundrel a murderer, man destitute OF
honor and of character, into the position OF
our accredited envoy at the Spanish capital.
President Grant himself appears to have re-
1aI hrctf fr11itS pf bspStppOD
Ship, and respect for Mh Daniel E. Sickles
as being of such slight consequence that he
could not stay in Washington even twenty
four hours to consider the new aspect in
which they put the Cuban question, and the
position in which they put his own admins
tration.
Yet both are surely worth consideration.
That the Cuban insuwection will take care
of itself and work out happy result for Cuba
with no interference of ours is utterly impro-
bable. 1t may suit an indolent and undecided
administration to believe that it will do so,
just as it suits Cuban agents in this country
to represent that this it is actually doing. But
what are the facts of the case?
The Cuban revolt began nearly or quite ten
months ago. Had it broken out before the
revolution in Spain, it probably would have
been successful long before this time; for in
that case it would have commanded the active
jority of the inhabitants of the island, as well
Peninsulars as Creoles The intolerable bur-
dens imposed upon Cuba by the sudden re-
turn of the Narvaez government to power in
Spain had been working out such result, for
eighteen months and more, when the system
of Narvaez, emasculated by his death, went
to pieces under the shock of the revolution of
1868 in Spain.
But though the actual Cuban insurrection
ofrI1o a1.a ta1,tlN nc
sured with extreme vehemence for 50 many
months, what do we see to-day? 1t remains
still without any discoverable and accessible
headquarters in the island. Not a single sea-
port has fallen into the hands of the insur-
gents. 'Ocean belligerency" they have none,
nor the ghost, Of any. Foreign States are
compelled to take the very existence of such
thing as an organized insurrectionary gov
ernment' purely upon trust. While this state
of things continues, it grows daily more and
more probable that the property-holders of
the island, coming to regard the rebellion
as a failure and as threatening to de-
generate into a mere system of
rapine, brigandage, and destruction, may
make up their minds that order with Spain is
better than disorder without Spain, and 50,
abandoning their hitherto inert attitude of
expectancy, may throw themselves with all
their force upon the side of the Spanish Gov
ernment. To do this will be to end the mat
ter, morally at least, in favor of Spain. For
when this has been done, Spain will find her
self in position to treat with the Cubans
without any intemediation of ours. AnG
everything conspires to make it probable
that, whenever Spain comes to treat with the
Cubans amicably, the result will be the estab
lishment in the island of practical autonom,
involving no closer connection with tn,
mother country than now exists betweeI
England and her North American Dominion
This may or may not be a sensible anC
satisfactory solution of the Cuban question a.
it presents itself to-day. But it assured,
will not be the solution which Presiden
Grants administration has been looking for
It's consummation would be an open defea
and humiliation of President Grants admins
tration
1t is perfectly true of course, that the sue
cess of the propositions made by our Govern
ment at Madrid, and ruined Gf they al
ruined) by the advocacy of Sickles, Nigh
have ended in very much the same solution
as this. The examples of Mexico and he
sister Spanish American States are not calcu
lated to tempt intelligent Cubans into desirin
Cuban independence. But if Cuban autOuC
my without independence had been secure
through the good offices of America, not onl
should we have made Spain our friend b
helping her honorably out of a cruel difficult
we should have admirably prepared the wa
for the eventual annexation of Cuba by al
taching to ourselves the best classes of tn
Cuban population.
If Cuban autonomy without independence
is achieved now without us, it will seem t
have been achieved in spite of u.s. and stu
alton pregnant with the finest possibilities fC
the influence and the reputation of tn
United States will have been scandalOusl
sacrificed bv the frivolous political incapacit