The DeLamar nugget. [volume] (DeLamar, Idaho) 1891-1900, 1895-12-21
Struggle OF tho Pecp,e for L.ber-
ty and Independence.
Many Attempts Made During the Last
Century to secure selr-Goverancnt
Lave All Resulted in
Failure.


Our knowledge of the facts of the in
surTcction now in progress in CUBA is
far from satisfactory. While one ca-
| hardly pick up daily newspaper with
cut finding some dispatch concerning
the struggle, it is impossible to deter
Lime how far the published statement:
have i,ecn 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 insurrcction has been
il. progress for a number of months,
ard las extended over a large part o..
the interior of the island; that Srair
has sent over her ablcst general, Will
tens of thousands of soldiers, to crusi,
it; that the insurgents, far from yield
ing. have adopted the constitution of /
republic. and chosen a president and
other officers.
When we remember that q previous
effort to achieve the independence OF
the island resulted in 4 warof 10 years
length. filed with atrocities hardly rar-
lllelcd even in similar conflicts, the i'm
MEDIATE outlook is not inviting to thu
lover Of reacc.
The history of Cuba in this century is
little more than a dreary record of I'M
successful attempts at liberty. Atfirsr
the attempts were peaceful. The con
stitJtion of Spain in 1912, as a result OF
the Napoleonic wars, guaranteed Ger
tain representation to the Cubans
Through the successive defeats of tho
liberal party in Spain, this provision
vas never enforced; and when, in 1886,
Queen Isabella finally accepted the cor
;tifution, the cortes voted by an over
Whelnling majority that Cuba shoulC
enjoy none of the privileges which tick
tended to the Spaniards themselves.
Since then, to most Cubars, libert,
nnd indc0endercc have meant the SAN
thing. The rule of the governors Fcr
raj has Keen absolute to a degree whicl.
4 is hard for an American to reaIizr.
It is true that small rarity has COZ
tirued to hope that some measure OF
self government might be gained with
out separation from the mother coun
try. Eut the concessions by which the
org insurrection of 19CS-1SS0 wa.
brought to close proved OF no practical
value The grasp of Spain on the col
onv planted nearly 100 years before til.
settlement of our own jamestown ha'
rcIrained firm while both the northcri
and southern continents of Amcric;
have becl freed from European control
Whatever ones views as to the RICH:
or wrong of the present uprising, it
general similarity to the struggle that
rcsultcd III our own independence can.
not lie denied. In the matter of rriev-
ances. in fact, most of us Will lie in
clned TO think that the Cubans hav
even prcater right to complain than did
the British colonists in 1776. The char
actcr OF their warfare, with its nuEcr
ous sIrall 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 irsur
gents arc mainly confined to the int
rior. The advantage of a disciplined sol
tliery 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 shat the yellow fever is proving
far more fatll to the troops from Spain
than all the bullets Of the rebels.
This similarity of the Cuban struggle
10 the revolution, the nearness of the
island to our shores, and the intimacy
OF its commercial relations with this
counry have made the Cuban question
Il matter of practical political impor
lance with us. That the syrnpathies 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 OK
pressed by some act of our government.
The contention that the United States
should al least recognize the belligcrcnt
rights of the insurgents draws a certain
strength from the fact that Spain ac-
corded such recognition to the south
crn confcderacy within 40 days after
the firing on Sumter. But VIC should
not repeat, in retaliation, what we then
regarded as amost unjust and unfriend-
~ act.
Some competent JUDGES arc of the
olYinion that the according of bclliger
cnt rights to the Cubans by first-class
power would turn the scale in their
favor. It seems certain that the Gu
hans themselves are looking to us from
their mountains with some expectation
of encouragement, if not of active help.
Youths Companion.