The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1897-05-17
SYMPATHY WITH CUBA
Expressed at a Monster Meeting in
the National Capital.
SENATOR OHANDLER's VIEWS
Set Forth in Q Letter in Which He
Declares That President Mckinley
VIII Redeem the Pledges of His
Party on the Cuban Question.

VIII Redeem the Pledges of His
Party on the Cuban Question.
Washington. May 17.-An enthusias-
tic audience Of men and women, many
of them well known in Washington,
packed the Columbia theater to its
doors yesterday afternoon at mon
ster meeting held in behalf of the cause
of the Cuban insurgents. Seated on
the platform and participating in the
exercises were Senators Gallinger and
ALLEN, ex-senator Butler, Of South Car
olina; Rev Hugh johnson. pastor of
the Metropolitan Methodist church;
Rev. Howard Wilbur Ennis. and
number Of others identified with the in
terests of the insurgents. General
William Henry Browne, president of
the Cuban league. called the meeting
to order. and called Senator Gallinger
as the presiding officer Later he made
a brief address and read number of
letters and telegramc of regrets, among
Them being those from Senators Frye
and Burrows. and Commander Clark
son, Of the g. A. R.
Senator Chandler sent letter of re-
gret, which was in part as follows:
''As I wish to see the United States
declare and maintain the independence
of the island, as France did that Of the
American colonies and made the Uni
ted States a nation of course | shall,
as a practical friend, vote for every
minor method tending to the same ben
Efficient end. I hope and believe that
congress and the president will soon
formally recognize state of war and
Cuban beligerency. This step, follow
ed as 1t Will be by all the other inde- ,
pendent nations Of the western hemis-
phere, cannot fail to insure the Cuban
independence which Is sought for.
Moreover, without delay, we ought
to send a fleet to enter the harbors
and an army to land upon the soil of
Cuba first to protect the lives and
property of American citizens, and sec
Ondly to stop the atroclous and un-
civilized methods of warfare adopted
by the Spanish generals.
"In advocating all these measures I
am conscious of no passionate hostility
to Spain. In 1851 she recognized the
southern Confederacy within less than
three months after its military struggle
began, and surely If she cannot hold
Cuba without making 1t one vast des-
ert and graveyard by driving the in
habitants into the cities to starVe, and
by hanging, shooting or garroting Gu
ban officers and soldiers for rebellion
and inCendiarism, she ought to lose the
island.
president Mckinley willingly recog-
nizes the binding force of the platform
upon which he was elected, and will
soon do his part toward making Cuba
free and independent. He may pro-
coed with what will seem to impatient
spirits to be undue caution, but he will
not fail to be faithful to his pledges
and he will be fore long register the
decree which went forth in his tri-
umphant election"
Mr.. Karl Decker, of Washington.
who. as correspondent Of the New York
journal, spent some time in Cuba
much of it with branch of the Cuban
army in Santa Clara province, gave a
description of the condition Of affairs
existing, and of the plight Of many
people, 2ufferlng for the necessities of
life. He ridiculed the claims sent out
by General Weyler that the island has
been pacified.
In the course of some interesting re-
marks Senator Allen. of Nebraska,
humorously declared that there was no
division in the Populist ranks on the
question Of Cuban liberty. In this
whole matter he thought there had
been too much sacrifice TO a spirit Of
c6mmerciallsm, and 1t was time this
government had a little more human
ity and little more Americansm. He
declared that the United States could
not afford to have q decaying mon
afchy with foothold on this continent,
and he would be delighted to see Spain
and the Ottoman empires wiped from
the map of Europe. If the president
were TO send fleet to Havana war In
the island would cease in 80 days, and
It would not ba necessary to fire gun.
Ex-senator Butler, of South Carolina,
read a series Of resolutions which had
been prepared, and these were unani-
mously adopted. They earnestly pro-
tested against the "barbarous and In
human methods Of Spain In conduct
Ing the war in Cuba, declared this gov
srnment should recognize the lnsur-
gents as belligerents, and thac Cuba
had demonstrated that 1t was her
manifest destiny that. like Mexico, she
should be free and Independent with
out the payment to Spain OF any in
dtmnity.