Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1869-12-02
Gbs youa Upter.
A. F. Sperry, Editor.



1t does indeed appear strange that
so little is generally known about
the actual condition of affairs in Cuba.
The island lies ut our very doors,
connected with our seaports not only
by lines Of steamers but by telegraph.
Thousands of our own countrymen
| are now there, privates and officers
in the insurgent army. Why should
not our people be fully posted as to
what is really going on there, and
| what is the real state of affairs: And
yet we seem to really know less
about these matters than we did of
the troubles in Crete last year. We
can imagine but one reason for this
and that is, that both parties in Cuba,
and their friends in this country,
keep up such an immense, preposter-
Gus system Of lying. 1t seems i'm
possible to tell what to believe.
On the one hand we are assured
that the cause of the insurgents is
declining; that they do not now hold
a single town; that hunger and mis-
cry prevail in the interior to an
alarming extent; that the American
flibusters have been put in the fore
front in every combat, and in conse-
quence but few Of them survive; that
Gen. Jordan, the American Adjutant
General of the revolutionary forces,
some time ago proposed to surrender
to the Spanish authorities, for the
above reasons; &c. &c, dc. And the
Chicago Post continues to denounce
the Cubans as treacherous, lazy, cruel,
and devoted to the African slave
trade, says that the American tilibus-
ters went oCuba to steal, and thinks
that filibustering is about played out
! now.
Per contra, some persons about
New York City, Baltimore, New
Orleans and other seaports have
made it a business, up to the last two
or three weeks, to report lots Of cx-
peditions sailing from this country
to aid the Cubans. And Gen. Jordan
is reported to have written that he
has men enough, and that if he only
had plenty of arms and ammunition
he could end the revolution triumph
antly in ninety days-only thirty
days more than Mr.. Seward required
to end our own rebellion the other
way. And the New York Tribune
bias devoted many long article in
favor Of the Cubans, and seemed to
show sympathy with their revolution
and desire to have Cuban belligeren-
cy recognized by our Government.
Now, if one away out. West here,
upon such secondhand and conflict
ing statements, might be permitted
to form an opinion, it would be some
thing like this:-That the CubaDs are
a miserable, lazy, good-for-nothing
set in general, with some bright ex-
ceptions: that they have in former
years been terribly oppressed by
Spanish monarchies, before the pres
ent Government of Spain came into
power; that they deserve their free
dom and independence if they win
it themselves: that the American fill
busters who have gone to aid them
have been almost entirely Democrat
ic and largely ex-rebel; that the Sc
cret of their sympathy with the
Cuban revolution is the old Southern
longing for the annexation of Cuba;
that undoubtedly the Cuban war has
fingered on for long while, in a
series of petty skirmishes, insignifi-
cant strategical movements, and
abominable lies about them; that un-
|doubtcdly the insurgents could end
the affair successfully in very short
time if they only had arms and am
munition and men and leaders and
bravery and wisdom enough, and
would go at it, but that they lack
greatly in most of these respects; and
finally, that our Government ought
to, as it now does, simply let them
alone, preserving strict neutrality ac-
cOrding to the comfy of nations,
until cool judgment says they ought
to be recognized as belligerents or as
an independent nation.