The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-06-11

OUR NEXT DOOR HEIGHBoRs.

OUR NEXT DOOR BEIGHB0Rs.
: Our latest advices from the aPeazl Of thu
West Indies give no evidence that The
Spanish rulers Of that colony are making any
progress in putting down the instruction
which il fast reducing portions Of that once
aourishing island to condition little 70
moved from Aboriginal barbazism.
There, Is in the mother country, neither Of
the oontsnding parties appears to be able to
II conquer the other, and the so-called Carlist
and Cuban wars are nothing but dreary
succession Of indecisive skirmishes, in which
. few men are killed, few prisoners taken
and shot, without much regard to the usages
of civilized warfare, and the Sherman system
of highway robbery and wholesale destruc-
ton of houses and cattle is looked upon by
both parties Is the highest objects Of military
ambition.
Our sympathy is rather with the native
Cuban, partly because they are the weaker
and are struggling for freedom and partly be-
cause the Spanish colonial rulers are little
better than our own beloved carpet-bag
banditi. But there are many obvious reasons
why the United States should take great in
terest in the miserable struggles now going
on at their very door, and should at some not
very remote period be compelled, both in
Cuba and on the Texas border. to step in as
policemen and put stop to the apparently
hopeless condition Of anarchy and brigand-
age which now prevails at both points
It is always delicate and painful duty for
one nation to intervene in the domestic affairs
Of weak and ill-behaved neighbors, but there
is point beyond which international for
bearance ceases to be virtue. and that point
has already been reached by Cortina's brig
ands on our Southern frontier, and will shortly
be struck by valmaseda, Maxine Gomez
Co. in Cuba.
II one owns house and lot, and his right
and left door neighbors insist upon robbing
and shooting each other, varying the pastime
with occasional attempts at arson, his powers
Of endurance are likely to be sooner or later
exhausted, and if they persistently refuse to
keep the peace he will doubtless come to the |
conclusion that If persuasion fails to bring |
those nnpleasantly combative people to rea-
son, the only alternative is to "pitch in
himself and thrash them out of their bad
habits
That the United States could easily dis
pose of the job there can be no earthly doubt,
and indeed if the Federal Government would
only allow the people Of Texas to take Cortina
in hand, and let the American filibustering
element loose upon Cuba, the thing could be
done in less than twelve months in most
effectual and workmanlike manner. But
without resorting to this irregular and rather
primeval mode of settlement, the presence of
! few thousand cavalry on the right bank of
The Rio Grande, and of fleet of twenty or
thirty war vessels before Havana, Mantanzas
md Puerto Principe would do the business
or Valmaseda.
The miserable parody Of . constitutional |
government they now have in Spain could
ust as soon undertake to bridge over the
Atlantic as to hold the Island of Cuba against
he United States, and the equally contempti-
'le power Of the Mexican Republic could not
prevent our soldiers from overrunning and
folding all the northern provinces of Mexico.
European powers would look on with uncon-
ern, if not with sympathy, on operations
thereby their commercial interests would be
ather benefited than otherwise; and even if
ONE of them should feel otherwise inclined,
hey have too many causes of disquiet and trou-
le ct home to engage in q distant and Quixotic
ar for the protection of remote and semi O
ivilized communities who have never besn 9
isposed to obey foreign rulers or qualified to
overn themselves The Island of Hayti-
nee the most fourishing Of al the European
,ttlements in America-must also, sooner or
ter, be attended to by the Rome of the 4
ew World. and its farcicd revolution and
,unter-revolutions be forever squelched by
70 strong Caucasian arm. Like individual
ealth, national greatness has its duties, and
" Of the highest of these duties is to act the h
lrt Of powerful policeman and regulator
/ ones own borders.
If our Washington " statesmen" of both y
rites could bring themselves to look beyond :. !.
q next election and the distribution of the
aves and fishes Of Office between their re-
ective followers, there would be something
70 an American foreign policy on this con-
lent, and order would soon be evolved out D.
the chaos and anarchy which must con-
lue to prevail in two of the fairest islands of
Q Gull, IS well as on our own immediate
'ntier, SO long as the do-nothing policy is
hered to.
A GREAT WAR.