Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1895-12-19
Cuban Belligerency q Question q

the United States, without regard II
party affiliations, are watching will
ardent sympathy the struggle of tn,
Cuban revolutionists to throw off the
most oppressive government that has
afflicted any par. of the New World
This is as true of Senator Morgan. 8
distinguished standard-bearer of the
Democracy. as it is of Senator Cullom
Senator Lodge, and other stalwar1
representatives os Republican convic
ton. But, while in their good will to-
at the hands of Spain than Greece ev.
er suffered at the hands of Turkey.
our countrymen are substantially unan-
imous, there seems to be still among
them some diversity of opinion re.
garding the practical proofs of friend
ship which it would be proper for us
at this time to give. We believe that
this slight disagreement would disap-
pear if all of US would bear in mind,
first, the sharp distinction between a
mere recognition of belligerency and
a recognition of independence, nation
ality, or sovereignty; and, secondly,
| that the existence of belligerency is a
question not of law, but of fact, to be
determined, not in conformity with any
| technical rules laid down in text books,
but by the exercise of common sense.
To make these things clear is to rem
| der
a service both to the Cubans and to the
people of the United States. The SER
vice is performed in a pamphlet pub
lished in Philadelphia, the author of
which, DR.. John Guiteras, shows what
American statesmen and jurists have
held that belligerency means, and un-
der what circumstances they have said
it should be recognized. This is ac-
complished by review of a series OF
documents relating to the course pur-
sued by the United States toward the
Spanish-American colonies when these
were striving for independence, and
of official declarations made at various
other conjunctures. Through citations
from State papers DIR. Guiteras brings
out clearly the difference between a
| simple recognition of belligerency, the
least Objectionable step that an onlook-
| ing nation can take, and the much
more serious acknowledgment of a
combatant's independence and sover-
| eighty. He points out that what Pres
ident Monroe did in 1928 was to ac-
! knowledge the independence of certain
| Spanish-American communities, and
he proves by an extract from letter
written by Madison in the preceding
year that for many years previously
the United States had by proclamations
of neutrality recognized the belliger-
ency of the revolutionists In those
communities. The difference in the
rights incident to the status of mere
belligerency and those acquired
through an acknowledgement of inde-
pendence, is defined by John Quincy
Adams in 1919 in letter TO Minister
Rush. At that time, as Mr.. Adams
explains, the Spanish Americans, pos
sessing only the status of belligerents.
were entitled simply to an observance
of neutrality on the part of the United
States. Not until their independence
should be acknowledged would they
be entitled to the privilege enjoyed by
Spain of accrediting Ministers and
Consuls to Us for the purpose of pro-
noting their interests and supporting
their rights.
Now, the Cubans do not ask Con-
g:ess at this time to do what President
Monroe did in 1928 for many of their
Spanish-American brethren, namely,
acknowledge their independence, ma
tionality, and sovereignty. All they
now request is that Congress will do
for them what President Madison did
for their brethren at a very early stage
of their struggle for liberty, to wit,
recognize their beiligerency through
the issue of proclamation of neu-
trality. The benefits which would ac
crue from such a proclamation ara
thus summed up in quotation made |
by DIR. Guiteras from r. H. Dana's
edition of Wheaton,:
..They [the insurgents1 thereby gain
the great advantage of a recognized
status. and the opportunity to employ
cruisers at sea, and to
exert all the powers known to mari
time warfare. They. with the sane
ton of foreign nations, can obtain
abroad loans. military and naval mate
rials, and enlist men, as against every
thing but neutrality laws. Their flags
and commissions are acknowledged,
their revenue laws are respected. and
they acquire quasi recognition.
We have said that the existence of
belligerency is question of fact. So,
too, of course. is the existence of in (
but the two facts are
plainly distinguishable. Belligerency
may be defined as nationality in the
germ; as the potentiality rather than
he actual achievement of independ-I