The record-union., 1896-04-04

ton or agitation or discussion of for
| eign question, and seem to care little
about the Cubans or Spaniards, but
chiefly about the market.
| The unmistakable voice of the people
of the United States, as expressed in
| the enormous majority given in the
House of 262 to II, was in favor of
recognition of the belligerent rights of
/ the Cubans. 1t was against this that
| all the Spanish influence in this coun-
try was most strenuously exerted.
1t was to this hope of recognition OF
| belligerency that all friends of Cuba
turned. The reason was plain. 1t would
| be of inestimable assistance to the
| Cuban cause 1t would give them a
| flag. 1t would give them status in the
world. If they procured vessel and
| entered New York Harbor tomorrow
with tn lo..e ST : Tag they would be
! liable to be treated as pirates. The
| Spanish Minister would Immediately
claim that this should be done, but with
q recognized flag they could enter as
the ships from all countries do. They
could buy munitions of war openly.
They could buy supplies of every kind.
| Men could go openly if not in armed eX-
petitions to join them. They could ne
gotiate loans, negotiate them as openly
as the Spaniards could do now.
In 1915 the Spanish Minister, De Onis,
when the colonies of South America
were struggling, just as the Cubans are
now, demanded that our ports should
| be closed to the revolutionists under
| the flag of Buenos Ayres, Carthagena
and the Mexican Congress and other
| places which he said had "revolted
against the authority of the King, my
master" He denounced them as pi-
rates and bandits, and demanded that
| they should be so treated.
President Madison disregarded his
naughty demands, and recognized the
belligerency Of the struggling colonists.
/ He directed the Secretary of State,
| Monroe, to make the calm answer, on
| the 18th of January 1916: 1.-THE Pres
ident thought it proper some time past
! to give orders to the Collectors not to
make the flags of any vessel a criterion
or condition of its admission into the
ports of the United States" and he re-
piled to the half-savage demand of the
! Spanish Minister that the revolution
lists be treated as pirates in these dig
| nified and noble words: "All that your
! Government had right to claim of the
| United States was that they should not
interfere in the contest or promote by
any active service the success of the
revolution, admitting that they con-
| tinued to overlook the injuries received
| from Spain and remained at peace.
This right was common to the colonists.
With equal justice might they claim
| that we would not interfere to their
| disadvantage; that our ports should
remain open to both parties as they
were before the commencement of the
/ struggle; that our laws regulating
commerce with foreign nations should
not be changed to their injury. On these
| principles the United States have
| acted"
Was not the success of the Cubans
now probable? For a year they had
baffled the armies of Spain. In a recent
statement by the Spanish Minister ad-
dressed to the people of the United
States, he said that Spain had sent
10000 men to Cuba. With this great
army more than forty war vessels had
been cooperating to shut the Cubans
| in and subdue them. Far from being
snbdued, they had fought on success
fully for a year. each month and each
week pressing forward, bringing prov
irce after province under their pcsvev,
tuntil their authority had extended over
GOO miles from the eastern to the west
ern end of the island, and the Spanish
forces were to-day largely penned in
| the cities.
This is far greater war than the ten
year war of 1868 to 1878, with which it
is so often compared. That was con-
| fined to the eastern end of the island.
The revolutionists never established
! their power far from the province of
Santiago. The armies of Gomez and
Maceo, working in perfect harmony,
have fought their way steadily through
province after province, until they have
come into Pinar del Rio at the western
end of the island. The political and mil
| itary organization has been harmoni-
| Gus, effective and victorious from the
first 1t is exactly what President Mon
roe called "a movement of such a steady
and consistent form as to make success
proba And now, as in the time of
! Monroe, they should have extended to
them the rights to which they are en-
titled by the law of nations as equal
parties to civil war.
Boutelle (Rep) of Maine referred to
the fact that when the subject was first
brought before the House on February
9th he interposed an objection against
the hurried and inconsiderate action
then proposed. He did not suppose then
that he was the only member who OPP
posed such hasty action, but the press
of the country had given him a wide
prominence in connection with what it
termed 'tarresting action" on the Cuban
resolutions. He did not complain of
that prominence then, and did not now.
For, if any vindication of his position
was needed, il was furnished by the
appearance of these resolutions in the
House more than a month later for fur
Their consideration. That demonstrated
| that somebody somewhere had been of
the opinion that a question of this i'm
portance should not be voted upon and
] passed while members of the House
were hurrying out of the hall hated and
coated to their belated dinners.
Boutelle reviewed the history of the
parliamentary progress of the resolu-
tons, and expressed the opinion that
II was not the intention of the movers
OF the resolution to commit Congress
TO any definite and decided policy. Con-
gress, he said, had the power to put the
resolutions in such form as to compel
the President to act upon them, but that
had been carefully avoided. No joint
resolution was before the House, and
none had been. 1t was as we'll known
as anything possibly could be that the
President did not believe that state of
belligerency existed in the island of
lCuba.
Referring to the matter of public
sentiment alleged to be supporting the