The Portland daily press., 1895-04-06

or a possible uprising of the blacks, have
'"tei, oeeh fobbed' of their munitions of
war by rowing bands of insurgents-appar-
enly without any great show of resistance.
80 lar the purpose of the rebels has b.en
TO at'fact as little attention as possible so
as to avoid premature conflict with the
troops They keep insmall bands, with lurk-
ing places in the mountains and sparsely
settled rura! districts, making the wbols
island camp, without Offering any uartic-
ular strategic point for the SpaDiards TO
attack. This course, it is hoped, will not
only weary out the Spaniards and give
Yellow Jack chance to get in his work.
put may attract outside aid after a while.
Therefore affairs are not likely to come 10 a
mead Tor some time yet, it is so much easfer
ard safer TO let the unaccimated soldier.
drop off ''by the hand of heaven."a. the in
surgents call it, than to shoot them down
ana stand their own chances of getting shot
in some decisive engagement.
Inc late renewal of talk about the nur.
chase OF Cuba or its annexation by tbeUrft-
Gu states. recAils the fact that Uncle Sam
uei mas already made more than one at
Tempt 10 buy the island. It may not be
generally. known that once Cnba was freely
offered to our government
During Jefersons Presidency, while
spain was bowed beneath the yoke of
france, the Cubans themselves, feeling in
competent to maintain their Independence.
sent deputation to Washingto On. proposinp
the annexation of their island to the feder-
q system of North America. The President.
however. declined to even consider tbs
proffered acquisition. though in a letter 10
resident Monroe. written In 1928, he said.
canclly confess that have ever Iooksd
on Cuba as the most interesting addition
which could be made 10 our system of
tates. The control which, with E1e,du.
Point, this island would give US over the
Gulf of Mexico and the countries ana The
1sthmus bordering it. would fill the measure
of our political well-being''
FOES OF THE ARMY.
Again, in 1S4S. President Polk autborfzeo
our Minister at Madrid to offer SICK. GOO. .uee
Tor the fee simple of the island: but Spain
rejected the offer. She was poor then. "a
she is now and always will be, but her poy
ernment decided that if Cuba was so tennt-
ing TO the eyes of richer and more l.rss-
porous nation the prize would better be hold
on TO- 1t Is stated by those in position to
Know that II Spain Eaust part with Caba sae
wouia rather Yield 1t up TO any other conn
tIy under the sun thar the United Stafsx.
ohclals in Madrid believe that all tho In
surrections upon the island during ths last
hundred years have been planned under our
nag and pushed by Americans to the verge
OF open infraction of international law
They look upon Key West, New Orleans.
mobile, and Galveston as the very nests
anu Matching places of Cuban reyoIts. and
even New York. Boston, and ?hiladslp. in.
II not Washington itself, the chosen reports
OF the rebel plotters, who count vonadep-
TALLY upon American sympathy and assist
ance. In their eyes the purport of all this
is ankee method of bearing" the Cuban
market, SO TO speak-by helping 10 fo,pen&
trouble on the island, thus making il Ton
expensive for Spain to maintain her AN.
tncrity there and forcing her to part with
it
And truly it is mystery how Spain has
been able to Keep it up so long she has
crowded regiment after regiment of he,
poor little army into the island, but it ha,
been ike pouring water into a sieve. tb.
troops being absorbed by death almost ,aa
fass as they could be landed. The com,
olned slaughter brought about by patrio,
bullets, hardships, exposure, fever. and
other adverse circumstances has been enor-
nous beyond belief. Tie question is, how
long can poverty-stricken spain continue
to meet this drain upon her scan;y re-
sources?-tFannie B.Ward'sL etter IN Chica-
go Inter-Ocean.