The San Francisco call., 1896-02-02
THE. CUBAN QUESTION.

The comp Heated relations between the
United States, Cuba and Spain, which are
now apparently drawing to final settle
ment, have been furnishing sais country
with diplomatic problems for more than
fifty years. They have, in fact, engaged
the minds and energies of almost all of
our great statesmen from the earliest days
of the republic, and Adams. Clay, Web
ster, Everett Clayton and Marcy, as well
as later Secretaries of State, have had to
deal with them. In the present .iuncture
therefore it cannot be said that new
issue in diplomacy confronts us. Our
statesmen have had full time to maturely
consider every aspect of the problem, and
it would seem we ought to be able to adopt
now some decisive course OF action and
carry it out to the end without further
hesitation.
From the very first our diplomatists
made it known to Europe that the United
States would never permit Cuba to be
wrested from Spa in by any European
power. Moreover, it was declared to be
the policy of this country to ma intain that
attitude in regard to the island on our own
responsibility and without seeking any
foreign alliance to confirm it. Thus in
1925, when the British Government sug-
gested a tripartite agreement by which
Great Britain and France were to join the
United States in declaring that Cuba
should not be taken from Spain, Clay de-
cllned to enter into such an agreement.
Our course was to be strictly the outcome
of our own yolition, and in no wise depen-
dent upon anything in the shape of an en-
tangling alliance.
In 1851 the question was reopened by an
attempt on the part of the British and
French Governments to induce the United
States to join them IN a pledge not to
make any effort to acquire Cuba, but Sec
retary Everett declared first that the
treaty making power under the constitu-
ton could not permanently bind the Gov
ernment not to purchase Cuba as it pur-
chased Florida and Louisiana; and, Sec
ond, that no administration in this country
could stand for day against the popular
odium which would result from making a
treaty with European power which
would stipulate that at no future time
should Cuba become independent or under
proper circumstances be annexed to the
United States.
A few years later the attitude of the
American people toward Cuban affairs
was largely affected by the slavery ques-
| ton which at that time complicated every
issue that arose in our politics In the
controversy resulting from the seizure of
the American ship the Black Warrior by
the Spanish officials in Cuba, many be-
lieyed that the shareholders were in
clined to take advantage of it for the pur-
pose of annexing Cuba and adding more
slave territory to the Union. This fear,
which found frequent expression in Con-
gress, weakened the force Of the admins
tration in dealing with the subject, or else
at that time we might have brought the
long vexed problem to conclusion either
by annexing the island or at least riddlng
it of Spanish domination.
Prior to the outbreak of the irrepressi-
BILE conflict on the slavery question public
sentiment in all sections of the Union
and in both the great parties was dis
tinctly favorable to annexation. In an
article on Secretary Marcy, the Cuban
Question and the Ostend Manifesto" pub
lished in the Political Science Quarterly
for March. 1893, Sidney Webster points
out that the conservative policy pursued
in regard to the island by Fillmore, Web
ster and Everett was distinctly unpopular
even with the Wings both in Congress
and in the newspapers. Leading organs
of that party regretted that the admins
tration did not acquire "the pearl of the
Antilles and so prevent the incoming
Democratic administration from achieving
what seemed at that time the certain glory
of annexing the island.
Public opinion has changed to great
extent since those days. With increasing
strength we have grown conservative.
There is no strong annexation party at
present in the country. Nevertheless
every one feels it is time the long running
sore should be definitely and permanently
healed, and whatever course to that end
may be adopted by the President and the
Senate will doubtless find an almost unani-
nous support among the peonie