The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-05-22

II the following letter from Wash
ington to the Chicago Times Herald,
President McKinley's western organ, Is
not semi-official announcement Of
policy 1t Is a daring guess. The fact
that the Times Herald, a conservative
paper, whose owner, Mr.. Kohlsaat, en-
JOYS the presidents entire confidence,
prints 1t in a most conspicuous position,
with triple leads, ought, one would
think, to possess q certain signifi-
canoe.
Cuba is to be a dependency Of the
United States 1t is to be acquired, peace
fully if possible, during the Mckinley
administration. This Is the real sig
nificance Of the Cuban message. APP
parently the only purpose was to call
the attention of congress to the unfor-
tunate situation of our subjects in the
island and ask for an appropriation,
to be expended under the direction of
the president, for providing them with
food and medicine. But this is the
nominal purpose of the message. Be-
hind 1t lies an intention which, If exc
cuted, Will change to a most momen-
tous degree the traditional policy of
this government. 1t is a determination
TO annex both Hawaii and Cuba, to
strengthen our strategic outposts, to
go out to the sea for an extension of
our jurisdiction, our commerce, our en-
pire.
The policy has not yet been dis
closed 1t will not be disclosed till the
auSpicious moment arrives. That it
now exist may even be denied. But the
events of the coming six months will
amply justify the statements made in
this dispatch. Our eyes are turned
toward Cuba, both from motives of
duty and self-interest, and only one
thing can divert them and postpone the
inevitable separation of the island
from Spain and it's falling within the
jurisdiction of the United States. That
is a speedy and complete restoration
of order in Cuba by the Spanish gov
ernment. If Spain is to save Cuba for
herself she must move promptly and
effectively.
STUDYING THE PROBLEM.
For more than year President Nc
Kinley has been close student of the
Cuban question. The Cuban plank in
the st. Louis platform was adopted
with his knowledge and consent. His
sympathles have naturally been with
the Cuban struggle for liberty. The
sympathies of an individual and the
duty of a conscientious ruler are far
apart. The one may inspire action, the
other restrain within the limits of
conservatism. But in this case it is a
conviction as to where his duty lies
that impels the president to the adop-
tion of the general policy outlined here.
The keynote to the whole situation
is found in the fact that Spain has
ruled Cuba only with the sword, that
she rules now only with the sword,
and that even if the present insurrec-
tion be suppressed nothing but mill
tary power, constantly employed, will
serve to keep the island in subsection.
An empire that can rule a colony only
by force does not deserve to keep it and
cannot keep it. The world has out
grown those despotic systems in which
"a colony may be perpetually ground
under the iron heel of military power.
81 with these things IN mind, and re-
membering also that this nation has
more than once served notice upon the
world that If Cuba be lost to Spain the
island must not fall under the juris-
diction of any other power than the
United States, the president has en-
deaVored to inform himself concerning
the actual situation. He has became
convinced Spain is powerless to sup
press the insurrectlOn and to restore
and maintain order He has become
convinced that it is only a question OF
time when Spain's financial troubles
or the absolutely intolerable condition
of affairs in the island will make it
impossible for the island longer to re-
main under the foreign yoke. In other
words, II 1t is the manifest destiny of
Cuba to escape from the jurisdiction
of Spain-if the fates and impulses of a
people are stronger than the desires and
the powers of governments and dynas-
ties-why should not the end come be-
fore ruin engulfs the whole island, and
in time to save part of impending
loss Of life and suffering?
That the United States has a pecul-
lar duty and a peculiar interest in the
solution of the Cuban problem the
president is well satisfied. The world
has grown beyond that state of society
in which the theory was no man had
responsibility for his neighbor 1t has
grown beyond these relations between
nations in which the strong power no
longer concerns itself for the weak one
near by' lHe L H4leu SldleS mas assert
ed and is prepared to maintain the
Monroe doctrine. This doctrine is
nothing more nor less than a declara-
tion that the magnitude, might, posi-
tion and interest of our nation in the
western world make it the standard
of reference of all questions pertaining
TO redistribution of territory affecting
the balance of power in the Americas
In other words, we assert in selfish
way, for our own protection, the right
and the intention to forbid and prevent
any cession of acquisition of territory
In this hemisphere which may unfaV-
orably affect our position or threaten
the perpetuity OF our leadership in the
family of western nations.
I'VE cannot in this day and genera
tion assert a power for selfish purposes
unless we are willing to accept its in
evitable corrOllary, which Is a broad
un -elish responsibility in the region
VIII IN we assert our influence Is
pari unit and our fiat Is law. The
United States. by asserting the Mon
roe doctrine. by getting itself up as the
great. comma nding powers of the W as-
tern world. has assumed general re-
sponsibiltty as to Cuba; 1t has assumed
pecial responsibility by it's oft-repcat-
ed notice to the world that that island
naturally belongs to the republic and
that II can never be permitted to fall
into the hands of another nation.
Our right and duty in Cuba there
fore, are analogous to the relations Of