The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1896-12-10
the achievement Il al the reasonable 3

home rule, which, while preserving the SOW
ser'elgnity OF Spain, would satisfy all IA!
iona! = requirements lire Of her Spanish sub
cts-there should be no lust reason WhW i
the pacitication Of the island might not be-
erected on that basis. Such a result
would appear to be in the true Interest Cd &
al concerned. 1t would at once stop the
conflict which is now consuming the re-
sources of the island and making it WORTH
less for whichever party may ultimatelH
prevail. 1t would keep intact the possess
slons Of Spain without touching her honorl
" winch Will be consulted rather than inn
Spnsned by the adequate redress Of ad IS
$nitted grievances. It would put the pros
5pes1ty OF the island and the fortunes Of its
inhabitants within their own CONTROL with
out seyering the natural and ancient ties
which bind them to the mother country,
ana would vet enable them to test their
capacity for self government under the most
favorable conditions IA
Offers of Intervention Ignored.
1T has been objected on the one side
that Spain should not promise autonomy ,In-sS
III her insurgent subjects lay down their:
arms; on the other side that pronisedi
autonomy, however liberal and insult cient,
because without assurance Of the promise
SDelng fulfilled, but the reasOnableness Of u.
Q requirement by Spain Of unconditional.
surrender on the part of the insurgent GU
pans peIore their autonomy is conceded, is
not altogether apparent. 1t ignores inn
$portant features of the tuation-the STABLE
lily Two years duration has given to the in e
ssurrection; the feasibility of its Indefinite
proiongatlon In the nature Of things, and f
as shown by past experience: the utter and 4
Imminent ruin Of the island, unless the pres
ent strife is speedily composed; above all. 81
the rank abuses which all parties in Spain.
all branches Of her governments and all her
q !eadlng public zen concede to exist and pro-
Tess desire to remove.
Facing such circumstances to withhold s.
the prefer Of needed reforms until the 8part-
les demanding them put themselves at Il
mercy by throwing down their arms, has the.
appearance OF neglecting the grayest perils.
and involving suspicion as to the sincerity
OF any professed willingness to grant re-
forms The objection on behalf of the in q
surgents-that promised reforms cannot be- S
relied upon-must be-, of course, considered.
though we have no right to assume and no,
reason for assuming that anything Spain un-
f4dertakes to do for the relief Of Cuba will
not be done according to both the spirit and
the letter of the undertaking.
nevertheless, realizing that suspicious and.
precautions on the part of the weaker Of s
two combatants are always natural, and not
always unjustifa ble-being sincerely desir-
Gus in the interest of both as we'll as on ia Y
own account that the Cuban problem should
be solved with the least possible delay-it
was lntlmated BY this government to the
government of Spain some months ago that
II q satisfactory measure Of home rule were.
rendered the Cuban insurgents, and would .
be accepted by them upon guaranty of it's.
execution, the United States would endeavor.
70 ind way not Objectionable to Spain OF
furnishing such guaranty.
While no definite response to this intima--#
tlon has yet been received from the SPAN
lsn government, 1t is believed to be not
altogether unwe!come, while, as already
suggested, no reason is perceived why it
should not be approved by the insurgents
Neither party can fail to see the Importance a
OF early action and both must realize that T
to prolong the present state of things for H
even short period will add enormously to-.
the time and labor and expenditure neces- 6
sary to bring about the Industrial recupera- #
ton OF the island. 1t is therefore earnestly b
hoped on all grounds that earnest efforts
for healing the breach between Spain and
the insurgent Cubans upon the lines above
indicated may be at once inaugurated and
pushed to an immediate and successful is
sue The friendly offices of the United
States, either in the manner above outlined
or In any other way consistent with oui.
constitution and laws, will always be at. &
the disposal of either party
s. Whatever circumstances may arise our
policy and our interests would constraih
us to object to the acquisition of the island
or any interference with its control by any3 .
other power. 1t should be added that it
cannot be reasonably assumed that the
hitherto eXpectant attitude Of the United
States will be indefinitely maintained.i
While we are anxious to accord all due re-
spect to the sovereignty of Spain, we can
not view the pending conflict in all it's
features, and properly apprehend our in
evitably close relations to it and its possible
results, without considering that by the
course of events we may be dra Wn into,
such an unusual and unprecedented con-
dition as will fix a limit to our patient Sc
waiting for :. Spain to end the contest, either
alone and in her own way, or with our
friendly cooperation. When the Inability
Of Spain to deal successfully with the. in,
suFrectiOn has become manifest, and it isl S
demonstrated that her sovereignty is exI
tinct in Cuba for all purposes Of Its right,
full existence, and when hopeless struggle
for its re-establishment has degenerated
into a strife which means nothing more
than the useless sacrifice of human life and
the utter destruction of the very subject
matter Of the conflict, situation will be
presented in which our obligations to the
sovereignty Of Spain will be superseded by
higher obligations, which we can hardly
hesitate to recognize and discharge 81
Deferring the choice of ways and methods
upntil the time for action arrives we 81
should make them depend upon the precise
conditions then existing; and they should
not be determined upon without giving
careful heed to every consideration involv-
ing our honor and interest, or the inter-
national duty we owe to Spain. Until we.
face the contingency suggested, or the situ-
alton lis by other incidents imperatively
changed. we should continue in the line
of conduct hitherto pursued, thus In all
exhibiting our obedience to.
the requirements Of public law and our
regard for the. duty enjoined upon us by
the position we occupy in the family Of
nations. 9sa53 .s&5 S85
z "a contemplation of emergencies that may
arise should plainly lead us to avoid their
creation, either through a careless disre-
gard Of, present duty or even an undue
stimulat ton and illtimed expression OF feel
ing. But have deemed it not amiss to
remind the congress that a time may arise
when correct policy and care for our Inc
terests as well as regard for the interests:
Of other nations and their citizens, joined
by considerations Of humanity and a desire
to see a rich and fertile country intimately
related to US, saved from complete devasta-
ton, will constrain our government to such
action rs will subserve the interests thus
involved. and at the same time promise to-
Cuba and Its Inhabitants an opportunity to
enjoy the blessings Of peace.
h S55 VENEZUELA BOUNDARY.
The Trouble II Regarded as Practic-
55as ally Settled