St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-07-27
LOST IT'S HEAD.

LOST IT'S HEAD.
When man finds himself ire
trievably in the wrong and is I'M
willing to confess it, there is moth
ing left for him but to lose his tenn
per. Like the defeated party in a
suit at law, who found comfort in
resorting to the village tavern to
swear at the court, the Minneapolis
Tribune, finding it's position on the
Cuban matter untenable, concludes
that the best policy is to abuse the
administration. The original adj
mittance to it's columns of a para
graph accusing this government of
sympathy with Spain against Cuba
was probably inadvertent. Not
wishing to confess this, it simply
loses its head in declaring that the
United States ought to make no
effort to enforce its neutrality laws.
Further than this it proposes that
we should recognize the Cubans as
belligerents. This is coming down
to the plane of unadulterated nom
sense.
Who are the belligerents? And
when did they make application to
this government for recognition?
The question of recognizing an in
surgent party against any govern
ment as belligerents is always a
delicate and nice one. The first es-
sentia1, however, is to have some
body to recognize. 1t would have
been in order, according to the Trib-
une's theory, for an unfriendly gov
eminent to recognize the Chicago
strikers last year as belligerents,
and to offer them assistance and
asylum. The possibility is an alb
surd one, but the principle is the
same. The insurrectionary party in
Cuba is, as we believe, battling for
the sacred rights of humanity, and
commands our utmost sympathy.
We speak not only for the Globe
and its constituency, but for the adj
ministration at Washington, for the
Democratic party. and for the whole
country, Democrats, Republicans,
PopuliSts and all the rest. But ma
lions, like states and individuals,
are bound by the laws to whose OBJ
servance they have pledged their
faith. We are as much restrained
by international law as by any other
obligation of honor. 1t is not only
right policy, but it is the only safe
or possible policy to lay down GER
tain conditions that must be OBJ
served before one power can recog-
nize the virtual independence and
national existence Of a body of men
in armed resistance to another
friendly power.
There is open rebellion in Cuba.
But it is not organized rebellion. 1t
exists in only that portion of the
island which is remote from railway
access, and where the insurgents
fully in a rugged and broken coun-
try. 1t has not, as far as we know, at
tempted to organize a government.
1t has, therefore, no political ex-
istence, no leadership, no head
qualified to speak or make terms for
it. If, therefore, it were either pol
milton to the Cuban patriots, we
could not do so. Whom should we
recognize? With whom should we
exchange diplomatic acknowledge
ments?-- The proposition needs but
to be stated to declare it's imbecility
What, moreover, would be thought
or said of an administration which,
without the approval of congress or
without so much as consulting
it, should make a virtual declara-
ton of war, such as this would be
against Spain?
All these questions are simply un-
worthy of discussion. They are
questions raised by the preposterous
propositions of the Tribune in it's
efforts to get out of the hole by
shouting "jingo." In further illus
tration of it's fairness we might re-
mark that, on the same morning
when the news dispatches brought
the information that the schooner
fired upon by Spanish officers was
within the three-nile limit, and con-
sequently within Spanish jurisdic-
ton when the event occurred, the
Tribune says, editoriaIly: "The Span
iards have fired upon another Amer
lean vessel, and word comes from
administration circles at Washing
ton that it is all right" Every news
paper will find that it pays in the
end to be fair. The Tribune should
know that it is more dignified and
perhaps more profitable to be fair
than to be foolish.