New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-03-16
EUROPE AND CUBA.
,rrrRENCE TO THE STRUGGLE FOR
rNpEPENDENCE-EvO OF
SUGAR QUESTION.
London, March Z.

,auct of the United states Congress IN
Icing resolutions which forecast recognition
:, bell;eerent rights and possibly intervcn-
" Va, Il is condemned by the press "gratui-
.ors,v offensive"-an exhibition of "exasperatng
.mu,ntiousness" Ordinarily Englishmen have
-, been without sympathy for the people strug-
-rg 70 obtain their liberty. They were neither
,rewarm nor critical when Italy was working
ant its destiny a free. united State. But
.,sv are Indifferent to the fate of the misgov
mod and ruined Pearl of the Antilles; and they
-. not disposed to credit Congress with any
hing but q selfish and sordid motive In interest
lac itself in Cuban affairs. ] have yet 70 read
single generous sympathetic line in an Eng
psh Journal on this subject.
since generalzatons are un satisfactory, let
mo quote at random one or two passages from
.adjng provincial journal The Sheffield Times:
By its recent conduct the United States has
bwered itself very considerably in the eyes OF
rrronean Powers. There has been wantOn
Responsibility, almost as of madness, about It's
actions which ono does not as rule, expect
IN a Power which is anxious to be considered
Great The Yankees will probably find,
sowever that they nave reckoned without their
hest, Arrogance such as theirs grows by what
II feeds on; and European nations know it,
Snain may be- according to the Yankee ideas.
an effete monarchy; but the United States would
nrobably find her not quite such an easy prey
as il expected And it is hardly likely that
Spain would lack powerful backing. Inere are
some signs that France for one, would not be
a,sinclined to make common cause with her;
and Great Britain, in view of her vast interests
on the American Continent. ought to do the
same In fact. what is required is that all
the European Powers who own territory in the
western Hemisphere should join hands to adj
minister TO the United States severe diplomatic
defeat The Yankees are evidently spelling for
fight 1t is time somebody obliged them with
Q beating.
FRENCH AND GERMAN PRESS HOSTILE.
Equally unfriendly is the French press In deal
ing with the aggressive action Of Congress
"Figaro" warns statesmen of the Union not to
exasperate Europe with the Monroe Doctrine.
switch is only a disguised form of the tyranny
OF force" and praises Spain heroic nation
(which is governed much more by her imagina-
ton than by considerations Of interest. The
German press is equally hostile both to Cuba
and the United States. Indeed. II will be safe
&c assume from the utterances of the press
Of the Continent that Spain has the best wishes
Of Europe in her desperate attempt to preserve
the last stronghold Of her power in the New
World and that the Cubans have no friends
outside Of America.
Now II is not difficult to explain this indlffer-
ence to the fate of a people who are struggling
against misgovernment and economic ruin. 1t
a assumed by nearly all European writers that
Government to suppress the rebellion will be
fatal to the monarchy and will produce con-
ditl1n OF anarchy in the historic Peninsula.
These results would be serious that conserva-
tive minds shrink from the contemplation OF
them and prefer to believe that the rebels VIII
be conquered Moreover. the Cuban question is
recognized throughout Europe as an American
question Few writer's for the European press
have personal knowledge respecting Cuba. but
there is general acquescence in the fact that
neither England nor Germany nor France could
intervene in the affairs Of the Island without
challenging the United States TO war. From
the force Of circumstances. from geographical
and military reasons and from the commercial
dependence Of Cuba upon the United states
there must be American intervention or there
will be none at all.
ORIGIN OF THE CUBAN QUESTION"
Before the American Civil War the Cuban
question was device for the extension OF slave
territory. Annexation by purchase was favored
by Northern Democrats like Douglas and Marcy
on the ground of manifest destiny; but II was
the last resource of Pro-Slavery Democrats VINO
were drifting more rapidly than they knew into
the whirlpool Of war The policy Of annexation
was strenuously opposed by all enemies of sav-
cry. and it was not favored by any considerable
DAYS when flbustering expeditions were disas-
irons failures When Lopez other leaders
1onded on the island and raised the standard
Of revolt recruits did not rally around them
Cuba was then fairly prosperous; the planters
were slave-owners who were not menaced WITH
emancipation. and the commerce Of the island
was mainly with England the Liverpool ships
coming from the Plate with cargoes Of jerked
teef for the slaves and returning with sugar
from Havana and Matanzas. The planters were
repelled BY the advances OF Southern and
Northern Democrats; they had market for
their sugar in Europe and they were satisfied
with their Spanish political connections.
The first stage of the conversion OF the Cuban
ouestion into an economic rather than po-
li,ical issue occurred during the American Civil
War While hostilities were in progress a
vacuum was created by the COLLAPSE of the
Iousiana cane industry. Better prices for
Cuban sugar were offered in New-York than
IN London. Liverpool and Bristol. The vacuum
was filed from Cuba, whose sugar was diverted
from Eurcpe When the first rebellion broke
out in the island the planters were on the
Spanish side. and their slaves were ioyai 10
them Hostilities were confined to remote dls-
tric,s whore sugar was not produced The sugar
question really determined the fate OF the
island during that long, exhausting struggle
The planters never lost their American market
The Independence of the island would have been
won II the United States had shown any inter-
est In the movement. or had ceased to buy sug"
from that quarter. The American consumers
virtually paid the cost OF suppress'ng the re-
tellion.
After It's close, the Cubans had the burden OF
the war debt to carry, and they were also
confronted with emancipation. which came as
reward to the slaves for their loyalty 10 'he'i
masters. They also had to face destructive
competition from European beet sugar. an III
dustry fostered by the bounty system anu W
technical education There was only one mar