Turner County herald. (Hurley, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1896-03-19
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From Our Regular Correspondent.

been playing to standing room
only. The play might have been
called "The Cuban bluff; or ex-
planning after the act" 1t is
rather difficult to say which of
the senators took the star part, or
whether the play was tragedy,
comedy or farce, but inasmuch as
it at times had traces of all three
it should probably be classed as
melodrama. The plot of the play
runs something like this: The
Legislative branch of Uncle Sans
household being of the opinion
that old lady Spain is cruelty mall
treating Cuba, her orphan pro-
tege, declares that Miss Cuba is
old enough to fight back and that
her right to do so should berecog-
nized by Uncle Sam, and more
over that he should ask old lady
Spain to grant the orphan her
freedom. While the coordinate
branches of the legislative branch
are determining just how this
declaratian is to be wordcd, the
Spanish minister, who plays the
heavy william, rushes to the
middle of the stage and charges
three senator's with having made
mistatements, aud Senator Hale
comes forward as his leading sup
port. The play should have
called for the heavy william to get
the G. b. in this act, from the
executive, but he didn't get it,
the executive having concluded to
make his a thinking part only
Then Senator Hoar got the cue
and jumped all over the foreign
relations committee, the Cubans,
and things generally, until Sena-
tor Morgan ratified his sword and
gave him a turn or two and Sena-
tor Chandler gave him a little
comedy business about making
| flesh of the Armenians and fish of
the Cubans. Other senators said
their say, between times, all of
which was a great free show for
the galleries, even if there was no
logical ending to it. But why it
took place is more than anybody
can say. The time for debate on
these resolutions was before they
were adopted by the senate. 1t
was an absolute waste of time to
defer action on the report Of the
foreign relations committee when
it was we'll known that its report
had been practically agreed to
when the senate adopted the reso-
lutions.
Senator Teller is entitled to the
credit of having made the most
common sense summing up of the
diplomatic "break" made by the
Spanish minister, in publishing
a criticism of statements made by
senators during. the debate on the
Cuban resolutions, and it adds to
his credit that the words were
; spoken during a time Of unusual
excitement on the floor of the
senate, caused by Senator Hale
having had the Spanish minis.
ter's criticism read by the clerk
of the senate, as a part of his re.
marks against the Cuban resolu.
tions. Mr.. Teller said: "Tw1ce
in the history Of this country
have we sent home the ministers
of a great country, one of France
and one Of Great Britain, for a
very much less offense than the
one the Spanish minister has beer
guilty of. For fear that some one
will say that I am critizising the
administration for not sending
him home, l want to say tha
, under the circumstances, consid
ering the friction that has ariser
in Spain, if | had been the presi
= dent of the United States, shoulc
have suggested very kindly t,
him, through the secretary o
state, that repetition of tha
: conduct would necessitate hi
| leaving the country"
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