The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1896-03-04

vInces
This oses,ion.' Mr.. Vest wens on.
',is nnt wncihef Cuba mas achieved her
Independence Tas question is whprhrr
Spain can cooquer Cuba Can Spain
con'iure To hold Cuba as = province :
deny it, | say :hat '5e 10 long years
of successful resistance to Spain by On
la shows shat Cuba to-day has the pow
er 20 mautain aud will maintain sue
cessful resistance. This thing y~ar
go was wha; he French call an cmsn'e
"A mere haudful Of meo called ':Fl
yanl..' or The east coast. some Of wkna
we're hung a. pirates-ho>fes bumani
generis-to day it is an ic>urrecfion
Every Cuban is patriot. The Gu
bans have given Up homes, families,
everything, through the hope Of liberty
Tell ne that people like that can. be
conquered Never Never Neve'''
Will they be again willing subjects 70
the throne of Spaio?
NO instance can he found in which
a million and half of people. COM
blned and confedera'ed so unanimously y
as they are. have ever heen u'jnga,ed
except b7 exterminafi. What Amer
ican boy does not remember the buru-
ing oration Of Henry Clay, when he
spoke for Greece in 1924, and woeu
he predicted that go long as Thermopy-
lac and Marathon we're remembered no
Greek would lay down his arms before
the Turkish power We are told that
the Cuban in>urrectlonis's are negroes,
muIat;oes. Indians So much the more
reason why we should symoathize With
them, aud say God help them in their
dire extremity
Liberty lives with the poor and
oppressed not with the wealthy and
powerful 1t throbs in the breast Of
the imprisoned bird 5; it has gone
with the martyr to the stake, and has
taken its fight with h S soul to God
Liberty cannot be extinguished when
a people are unanimous in defense of
the rights which God has given them.
And if these people, ignorant and
poor, struggling against despotsm,
have initiated US, why should we con
tent ourselves with bare expression
of sympathy with their cause 1t is
a mere farce for US 30 do ANYTHING
else then to declare our belief to the
world that the Spanish, cause is hope
less in the island Of Cuba
Il deny and repudiate the doctrine
that all vestige Of Spanish power
must be eliminated from Cuba before
we can recognize The independence
of that people Are we to wait
until the island is made desolate by
fire and sword Are we to stand
silent and dumb while a Spanish
governor called genera) declares
his intention to bayonet the people of
Cuba and TO butcher them into sub
lection to the Spanish queen. I.say
that if we do, God will curse US |
say that if we do, and sit here idle
until desert has been made of that
splendid island, we may be sure that
the time will come when there will
come retribulion upon US as people.
because we have not been true to the
task assigned US by Providence-be
cause we have not cherished the
legacy of fself-government bequeathed
US by our fathers y
Mr.. Vests splendid rhetoric was
listened to with rapt attention and
great admiration by full senate AID
crowded galleries {; and his prerora-
tion was applauded on ali sides
He was followed by Mr.. Gray who
complimented him with the remark
that if the independence of Cuba
could be achieved By eioquence it
had been achieved by the burning
words that had fallen from the lips of
the senator from Missouri No one
could have heard him, he said, with
out sympatkizlng with the feeling
with which the senator's heart was
throbbing, and without giving favor
able response to every aspiration
which he had uttered for that unhap-
py island Mr., Gray went On to ar
que the futiFity Of declaring Cuban
indepence when every senator knew
that the struggle for it was not yet
successful.
Mr. Lodge gave notice that he
would offer as a substitute for the
pending resolution. the resolution re-
ported in the house of representa-
tives from the committee on foreign
affairs
AS soon as the journal of yester-
days proceedings was read in the
house to day, the argument of the
contested election case of Van Horn
vs.. Ta:nsney was resumed. An
o.x,oo,oo,,+ xr,oc op,,o,,pooo tI,ot n vnto