San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1895-12-16
CUBAN INSURRECTION.
Struggle Of the People for Liber-
ty and Independence.
Many Attempts Made During the Last
Century to Secure self-Government
Have All Resulted In
Failure.

Our knowledge of the facts of the in
surrection now in progress in Cuba is
far from satisfactory. While one can
hardly pick up daily newspaper with
out finding some dispatch concerning
the struggle, it is impossible to deter
Lime how far the published statements
have been colored by the authorities,
Spanish or Cuban, by whom they have
been prepared.
The silent facts of which we may be
! sure are that the instruction has been
| il progress for a number of months,
and has extended over large part of
the interior of the island; that Spain
has sent over her ablest general, with
tens of thousands of soldiers, to crush
it; that the insurgents, far from yield
ing, have adopted the constitution of u
| republic, and chosen a president and
| other officers.
| When we remember that a previous
| effort to achieve the independence of
| the island resulted in war of IL years
length, filled with atrocities hardly par
| alleled even in similar conflicts, the i'm
mediate outlook is not inviting to the
lover of peace.
The history of Cuba in this century is
| little more than dreary record of I'M
successful attempts at liberty. At first
the attempts were peaceful. The con-
stitLtion of Spain in 1912, as a result of
the NapCleonic wars, guaranteed GER
tain representation to the Cubans
| Through the successive defeats of the
liberal party in Spain, this provision
was never enforced; and when, in 1896,
Queen Isabella finally accepted the con-
stitution, the cortes voted by an over
whelming majority that Cuba should
enjoy none of the privileges which it ex-
tended to the Spaniards themselves.
Since then, to most Cubans, liberty
and independence have meant the same
thing. The rule of the governors gen.
eral has been absolute to a degree which
| it is hard for an American to realize.
| 1t is true that a small party has con-
| tinued 10 hope that some measure of
self government might be gained with
out separation from the mother coun-
|
long jnsurrection of 1s6s-1ssO was
brought to close proved of no practical
value. The grasp of Spain on the col
ony planted nearly 100 years before tho
settlement of our own jamestown has
| remained firm while both the northern
and southern continents of America
have been freed from European control.
Whatever ones views as to the right
| or wrong of the present uprising, its
| general similarity to the struggle that
resulted In our own independence can
not be denied. In the matter of griev-
ances, in fact, most of us will be in
clined to think that the Cubans have
even greater right to complain than did
| the British colonists in 1776. The char
acter of their warfare, with its numer-
| GUS small engagements and its slow
| progress, is also not unlike the earlier
campaigns of the revolution.
Now, as then, the sea power is almost
entirely in the hands of the mother
country, and consequently the insur-
gents arc mainly confined to the inte-
rior. The advantage of disciplined SOL
diery is on the same side. The climate
of the island is, however, a help to the
insurgents such as our fathers did not
possess: for we see it constantly as
serted that the yellow fever is proving
far more fatal to the troops from Spain
than all the bullets of the rebels.
This similarity of the Cuban struggle
TO the revolution, the nearness of the
island to our shores, and the intimacy
of it's commercial relations with this
country have made the Cuban question
Il matter of practical political impor-
tance with us. That the sympathies of
most Americans are with the party of
independence is evident to everyone. 1t
is further asked, however, whether this
sympathy may not properly be eX
pressed by some act of our government.
The contention that the United States
should at least recognize the belligerent
rights of the insurgents draws certain
strength from the fact that Spain ac-
corded such recognition to the south.
ern confcderacy within 40 days after
the firing on Sumter. But we should
not repeat, in retaliation, what we then
regarded as a most unjust and unfriend-
ly act.
Some competent judges are of the
opinion that the according of belliger
ent rights to the Cubans by first-class
power would turn the scale in their
favor. It seems certain that the Gu
bans themselves are looking to us from
their mountains with some expectation
of encouragement, if not of active help.