The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1896-03-06
10 RECOGNITION FOR CUBA.
The President and Els Cabinet Opposed to
Granting Insurgents BslligereAey.
PRESIDENT GRANT'sPoLlCY.
The Administration Will Not Break Is
tabIlshed Precedent by Recognize
ing Either Cuban Beliigereney
or IndepenPenee,

WASHINGTON, March 5-The president
and his cabinet are undoubtedlystrO
lyopposed to the present recognition
Of the belligerency of the Cuban insur-
gents and to any declaration concern
ing their independence as embodied in
recent congressional resolutions. The
following statement outlines theirview:
The administration thinks itshould not
depart from the well-settled principles
which we're followed by former presi-
dents and secretaries Of state during
prior instructions in Cuba.
These we're clearly set forth by Gen.
Grant in his message Of 1873, in which
he dealt with the question of Cuban
independence and also with that of the
recognition of belligereney:
Both independence and belligerency
are facts, and their recognition by
other powers, as the term implies, is
merely g formal acknowledgement of
state Of things which rightly OF wrong
iy has come about.
When people, united under some
known and defined form Of government
which administers its functions by the
usual methods, come to occupy and
control know territory over which it
is competent to administer justice and
within it affords protection to citizens,
a new state exists. Refusal of recOgni-
ton would not change the fact any
more than premature recognition would
create it. The former would be merely
3 slight to a new government, just as
the latter is merely an affront to the
old one, The question necessarily is
always what government is actually in
control of the country.
Recognition of belIigerency depends
upon the same facts and is only mOdi
Hed form Of recognizing independence,
though the latter implies more perfect
accomplishment.
The difference between mere insur-
rection and war, though both armed
bodies request conflict, is that in the
former only one sovereign power is
engaged, while in the latter there must
necessarily be two. If an armed con-
flict be- carried on by a substantial
political organization, real, palpable
and manifest to the world, having The
forms and capable of the ordinary
functions of government toward its
own people and to other states, having
a local habitatiOn where it may be
dealt with by other nations, then there
is war, and refusal to recognize beili-
gerency would be wilIful In the
absence Of these features, there is
nothing to take the contest out of the
category of a mere rebellious insurrec-
ton, or occasional skirmishes, and
place it on the terrible footing of war.
The pretense of recognizing what
does not exist sis always, aud justly,
regarded as an unfriendly act and a
gFatuitous demonstration of moral
support to the rebellion"
It is understood that, judged by
these tests, the administration dies
not think the present stage of affairs
in Cuba justifes any change in the
attitude of the governments. It's
function is to act and not to express
feeling. The only action now proper
is to continue to hold responsible for
iajuries to American citizens the only
government which so far as appears
has and maintains authority in Cuba
until some other government succeeds
at least temporarily, in supplanting it