Daily Kennebec journal., 1896-05-15
AUGUSTA. MAINE. FRIDAY MORNING MAY IS, 1896
the CUBAN POLICY.
Administration Mas Done Well But There Is a
Chance to Do More.

Washington, May 1.-THE prompt
ness and vigor with which the admin
istration has interviewed to save the
Competitors crew from death have
mended. but another inquiry is how
been generally and properly com
far its general Cuban policy is at stake
mended, but another inquiry is how
in this matter.
Weeks ago both branches of Con-
sress. by Overwhelming majorties
pronounced in favor of according belli-
Serent rights to the insurgent Cubans;
but the form of the resolution left the
actual proclamation of belligerency
and of neutrality to the President. the
time, also. of issuing such proclama-
tion being practically left to his discre-
| ton. That discretion Mr.. Cleveland
exercised by doing. nothing. so that, in
| the view of Spain. the insurgents are
not now regarded as belligerents by
the United States.
On the other hand, had belligerent
rights been accorded, it is obvious that
the Spanish court martial might well
have hesitated to sentence the crew Of
the Competitor to death. 1t would have
been dealing not with 'brigands," as
Spain calls the patriots, but blockade
runners. To have put American citi-
zens to death for blockade running
would have been an outrage. 1t would
not have been case OF the treaty Of
l19a or of the protocol of 1877, touching
| sedition in time of peace. but of public
law, universally recognized, as 10 rights
and duties in a state of war
II. accordingly. Spain should decide
that the Gushing protocol of 1877. being
| limited, ty its terms. to the cases only
of our citizens residing in Spain. her
| adjacent islands. or her ultramarine
possessions" does not apply. and, fur
ther. that the old treaty Of 1875 has
| been in no respect violated by the court
| martial. the administration might be
| in n predicament.
| If Spain should say that the Law is
clear and order the sentence OF death
to be executed, it might be argued by
some that this was due To the failure of
the President to recognize the belliger-
| ency of the Cubans in spite of Con-
gress, since with that recognition no
such sentence would probably have
! been pronounced. Mr.. Cleveland and
Mr.. olney may well. therefore have
| stirred themselves. if the admnistra-
| tion has prevented the Competitors
crew from acquiring the compara-
! lively protected status of prisoners of
war.
| How do the facts bear on this gem
| eral view? AS to that. the testimony
in the case is very striking. 1t shows
| that when the commander OF the Span
ish patrol boat saw men trying to land
from the Competitor, he opened FIRE
with Hotchkss gun, killing two per-
sons and causing the surrender Of two
| who We're trying to reach the shore in
a small boat. while all the others got
away. 1t was further testified that the
insurgents on the shore opened fire
| On the Competitor were found three
other men, making five prisoners in all
and there We're also found certain docu-
ments, including revolutionary papers
signed by Laborde. letters from prom
| inent insurgents recommending him.
the ships register and her log. This
| last document showed that she had
started from Key West with a large
| number of men.
Laborde's defence was that the
schooner had started from Key West.
but not for Cuba. with a number OF
l
themselves to be filibusters. and com
| PEELED the crew to land them as they
were landed. The Spanish court con-
cluded that this was a very weak de
fence; but the main point is that with
| bcllieerent rights conceded. and with
| a blockade established, even a deliber-
ate attempt to run it would not have
been a crime calling for the penalty of
death
AS the case now stands. the govern
ment cah say that, for the reason that
bclligcrent rights We're not conceded
the case is one of simple sedition. and
demand civil trial for American citi-
zens under the treaties of 1895 and
1877. on that point we may still in
sist that the Spanish Interpretation
which would exclude from the privi-
leges of the latter treaty even Ameri-
can visitors to Cuba and travellers, un-
less they were actual residents of the
island, is inadmssible. and that the
words resident in" are plainly equiva-
lent to the words being in," as another
portion of the treaty directly suggests.
The administration may well urge
this point the more since the Compet-
itor's crew have not the partial shield
of belligerency proclamation 1T
must be admitted. also, that if Spain
has spark of gratitude for the con-
sideraton shown to her by Mr.. Clcve |
land in not issuing such a prociama |
tion she will be inclined to take care
that his administration shall not suffer |
therefor in the actual disposition of the |
Competitor case.