The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1896-12-22

both white and black. without pedigree
they are attempting TO establish line
age. beginning with themselves, by
lighting for liberty and dying in its
name.
"A hundred years from now the
peerage book of the republic of Cuba
viii contain the names of these patri-
OTIS, valued and nlustrious to them as
the roll of the revolutionary sires are
to us.
'Domiciled in a veritabIe garden Of
Hesperides. the most beautiful Of all
the island homes that emerald the
ocean, girt round by the wash Of gen
erOUS seas, with land-lOcked hdrDCrS
and roadsteads safe from uprOariOus
wave, sufficient to anchor the navies of
the world; ribbed it's entire length with
a great mountain range. with broad
lagOOns, whose silence is stirred by the
hutter of the water fowl the leap of
fish or the cry of some bright plumaged
bird; wide savannas, whose green car
pets touch the indrifting tides the
song of myriad birds; a wilderness of
tropical bloom; an eternal summer
great forests and aromatic woods;
daintiest eVergreens; orchards that
touch the mouth of appetite with their
donwfalling fruit; where sunshine is
raiment- each breeze a royal wine, ana
where the Outstretched and bespangled
canopy of night is the tucked-in cover
let of sleep: where every influence is
languorous, and where every condi-
ton is opposed to endeavor-
lit is a wonder that they should
turn from this earthly paradise to look
upon the chains that hold them IN
thrall.
THAT such a people should wake to
liberty. should shake off their slumber
and undergo for freedom all human
dangers. suggests even to ourselves
some secret charm of liberty that is
still sWeeter than all the riot of beauty
and bloom that sweeps with its tempest
of fragrance this insurgent island of
theirs
why should they not be content
with their present condition. Why
should they not walk the paths of
peace, margined with roses, and lie
down on beds of luxurious Incidence
and dream dreams of airy castles. filled
with spice and scent and fragrance
Why should they arouse themselves IN
the cause of liberty and yield on the
altar of their sacrifice these Splenulu
creature comforts of Ife2 There is put
the simplest answer. The sum "a ali
human hope is liberty and the sum "a
all human happiness is its enjoyment
cuba has undergone double peon-
age. to Spain and Poverty. each snack
ling a limb the other had not bound
They have never had the knowledge
that organization gives Ehey are ue-
prived of the great opportunity OF re-
source. But they have the mighty I'M
pulse of men who desire to be Iree ana
in their hands the hastily seized, nlcked
and ungrOund sugar knife, the stray
carbine and a few misht cartridges
from the hold Of the Three FRIENDS
have earthquaked the solid serenity Oh
Spain. and have Crumbled the AlhaIn-
bra into a greater ruin than has been
wrought by all the throes Of a hundred
years of antecedemt times
They have met their masters face
to face. They have encountered the
battalions of Barcelona, the cavaliers
Of Salamanca, the horsemen of Andalu-
STA. the gunners Of Cadiz and the butch
ers of Madrid They witness daily in
the Offing the circling ships Of Spain
waiting as the wolves wait for the
sheep that stray beyond the fold, and
watching as Vultures watch, TO pOunce
upon the carcass when the knell of
Cuba's hope is wrung- Against them
are numbers, organization, armament
and stores They have opposed the
forces of Spain with their stubborn
mountain Businesses. the resistance of
their sunless lagOOns, held by few
dauntless souls who have no horror of
ambuscade. no terror Of dungeons, and
no fear of death.
The caste. the aristocracy, the gran
dee, the don are Rugged in fatal en-
brace by a peOn empaSsiOned by his
first thrill Of liberty who strives to
break the gives that fetter his own
person that the limbs Of his children
may be unshackled and free. Spain is
pursuing its evil destiny to a cOncl fusion
Tt has learned nothing by the bitter
lessons of the past While all the rest
of the world is reading from the open
ed book of civilization. it clings to the
traditions of the inquisitiOn 1t has
been the mistress of commerce. 1t has
led all ships on the ocean. 1t has dis
covered a new world only to be dis
pOiled of it. little by little An island
here, an island there, then a cape. pro-
mOntOry, province or principality- For
400 years the other nations have been
casting lots for its garments With
Cuba today it viii be the Philippines
tomorrow.
"The miserably equipped insurgents
of Cuba have taken every hazard Of
the cast Of their one alluring hope of
freedom.
Fit is the unequal fight that tyranny
is always compelled to make; Of power
and malignity. of force and brutality;
of treachery, rapine. assassination and
butchery. Opposing these. the Cub
ans lOTdliest pOmp and circumstances
of battle are the free arm the high
purpose. the graves of kindred trOd by
vandal feet. and the emancipation of
their race In the long line OF battle
the strongest battalion is the one of
right and the rifle that IS Of the dead
Hest aim is the one that is loaded with
the bullet of liberty.
"On the very threshold Of that be-
nign period of peace and good viii that
ushers in the man of peace. where the
very air is vibrant with hearty words
of welcoming and friendly greeting,
when we can almost hear from the
frosty towers the pleasant wrangle Of
Christmas bells. it is Well at such an
hour to remember the blessings of lib
erty. We are the first nation on the
face Of the globe. We are the create
ANtAh-AI ~ eNAA NAAC @AAA D-4ANANN NEAAA uric
We have obtained our great largess of
liberty. through the furnace fires of
battle. by heroic endeavOr and by APP
palling sacrifice our slain in battle
would people empire and the blood
of our patriots shed that we might be
free, would lift upon its ensanguined
wave an armOred battle ship.
s'The sound of battle in cuba is the
cry OF a brother in distress As we have
enjoyed the manifold bounties of freedom
so must we recognize in Increasing pro-
3
session compels us to perform for others.
We are rich i'm the accumulated spoil Of
a hundred and twenty years of liberty.
'"rhe orchards OF cuba have never
borne such fruit and the turn Of its
-.