The Evening dispatch. [volume] (Provo, City, Utah) 1891-1895, 1895-02-27
PROVO CITY. FEB. 27, lSe
REVOLT In CUBA.

Cuba is 30 near neighbor to US that |
any unusual commotIon there i'm !
mediately becomes of grave Importance
to us. There is but little doubt but |
that if this nation survives another !
hundred years, it will own and govern,
not Cuba alone, but the entire island
realm of the West Indies. This is the
inevitable. 1t must be, simply as a !
matter of self-presei Yation, If for no
other reason. Here is a group OF is
lands lying along our gulf coast and |
within few hours sail, belonging to
number of European nations. In case
of war they would be outftting stations
and depots of supply for invading
armies, Ne hsye long considered that
sound policy demanded at the hands of
our national government the entire
and complete possession of these islands
either by purchase or conquest, nor
would we be t)o squeamish as to the
immediate cause or excuse for their
seizure, in case purchase could not be
effected upon a reasonably fair basis.
1t should have been done fifty years
since because the possession OF the
islands could have been secured then
more cheaply than now. By the same
rule they can be secured now at less
cost than at any time in the future.
The population of these islands is of
a heterogeneous and discordant char
acter. The people are turbulent and
have the freebooter's ideas as
to legal or other rights. If the pres
ent revolt in Cuba will have the good
effect to arouse the attention of our
government to the important neces
sity Of taking in, not that island alone,
but the entire West Indies, it will be
good thing. We are aware that fill
clustering has grown to be classed as
one of the barbaric arts, yet while
England, France, Germany and Rus
sia are enrIching themselves and in
creasing and extending their power in
the east and in Africa we cannot see
the improperly in the United States
doing a little in that way, herself,
especially as the territory we covet lies
at our own very doors, as it were, and
the greatness Of the necessity and the
soundness of the policy is SO apparent
to all 1t is true that CUBA, Jannaica
and St. Domingo have considerable
territory and their acquisition would
add materially to our landed posses
sions as well as to our population. yet
with all that the acquisition would not
amount to one half that the other
powers named have acquired, indi-
vidually, within the last ten years.
Our enterprise in this way would be
justified by necessity, a severe law, but
very strong one and one, too, which
it is very hard co get around, deny or
cavil it. A revolution on any scale OF
Importance whatever in Cuba would
unsettle all the islands in the
gulf and would profoundly affect
us from one end of the nation to the
other, and this is true of every other
island, great or small, of the entire
West Indian group. The best plan to
secure our own tranquility as well as
theirs, would be to annex them all, one
after the other. 1t is true England
would object, SO would Spain, but what
of that? The people of the islands
themselves would vote for annexation
by very large majoriuies. The objec-
tion to Uncle Sam's policy is, that it
has heretofore been too internally fair
for any thing, and he is losing a good
deal when he comes into comparison
with the other nations. He is running
now on the scale of first class nation.
at least in the way of expenditures. To
support that be must not only have
more territory, but he must own and
control all that which is contiguous
and which might be hurtful against
us in case Of war. Necessity is said
to be the mother of invention; in this
case it is the mother OF policy which
cannot be inaugurated a moment too
soon, or pureued too earnestly.