The San Francisco call., 1896-04-04

through our Minister at Madrid, offered
the good offices OF the United States, to
bring that war to close on the basis of
Cuban independence.
The immediate recognition OF beiliger-
ency was far more important and practi-
cal question. That was the point covered
by the first resolution, both of the Senate
and of the House. In mere bulk the petit
tions presented to Congress favoring this
course had exceeded those upon any other
subject for years.
On the ether side, individual members,
especially of the committee charged with
the subject, had received letters from citi-
zens deprecating any action whatever.
These letters were almost always from
those who call themselves business men,
brokers apd financial men, who were op-
posed to any agitation or discussion of a
foreign question and seem to care little
about the Cubans or Spanish, but chiefly
about the market.
The unmistakable voice of the people of
the United States. as expressed in the
enormous majority given in the House,
262 to II, was in favor of recognition of the
beiIigerency of the Cubans. 1t was against
this that all the Spanish influences in this
country were most strenuously exerted.
1t was to this hope of recognition of bel
Iigerency that all friends of Cuba turned
The reason was plain. 1t would be OF in
estimable assistance to the Cuban cause.
1t would give them flag. 1t would give
them status in the world. If they pro-
cured vessel and entered New York
a.
they would be liable to be treated as
pirates.
The Spanish Minister would imme-
diately claim that this should be done. but
with recognized flag they could enter as
the ships from all countries do. They
could buy munitions of war openly. They
could buy supplies of every kind. Men
could go openly if not in armed expedi-
tions to join them. They could negotiate
loans, negotiate them as openly as the
Spaniards could DO now. In 1915 the
Spanish Minister, De Onis, when the
colonies in South America were struggling
just as the Cubans are now, demanded
that our ports should be closed to the
revolutionists under the flag of Buenos
Ayres, Carthagena and the Mexican Con-
gress and other places which he said had
"revolted against the authority of the
King, my master" He denounced them
as pirates and bandits and demanded that
they should be SO treated. President Madi-
son disregarded the belligerency of the
struggling colonists. He directed the
Secretary of State, Monroe, to make the
calm answer on the 18th of January, 1916.
The President thought it proper some time
past to give orders to the collectors not to
make the flags Of any vessel criterion or
condition of its admission into the ports
of the United States, and he replied to the
half-savage demand of the Spanish Minis
ter that the revolutionists be treated as
pirates in these dignified and noble words:
'sAll that your Government had a right to
claim of the United States was that they
should not interfere in the contest or pro-
mote by any active service the success of
the revolution, admitting that they con-
tinued to overlook the injuries received
from Spain and remained at peace.
This right was common to the colonists.
With equal justice might they claim that
we would not interfere to their disadvan-
tage; that our ports should remain open
to both parties as they were before the
commencement of the struggle; that our
laws regulating commerce with foreign
nations should not be changed to their
injury. On these principles the United
States has acted.
Was not the success of the Cubans now
probable? For year they had baffied the
armies of Spain. In recent statement by
the Spanish Minister, addressed to the
people of the United States, he said that
Spain had sent 125, 900 men to Cuba. With
this great army more than forty war ves-
sells had been cooperating to shut the
Cubans in and subdue them. Far from
beng subdued, they had fought on success
fully for year, each month and each
week pressing forward, bringing province
after province under their power until
their suthority had extended over GOO
miles from the eastern to the western end
of the island. and the Spanish forces were
to-day largely penned in the cities.
The Spanish newspaper organs had been
constantly claiming that the republic had
no capital and if one were pretended they
would at once capture it. "But, said Hit
eve see publications from Cisneros the Pres.
ident of the Cuban: Republic at Cubitas,
their capital, which they have held undis-
turbed for nearly year undisturbed be-
cause they defed Spanish power-while
the dispatches in this. mornings papers
give accounts of engagements in the,en-
virons of Havana. 1t looks from this
distance as though General Weyler in