The herald., 1897-10-27
LOGIC OF A WAR WITH SPAIN

The latter power is, perhaps, the last
nation in Christendom to heed the die
tates of reason and common sense where
her pride is involved, or where the alter
| native of backing down from position
involving her supposed national pres
tige presents itself.
Craftsmanship amounts to little if it
in any given instance fails to subserve
the common good of the people in whose
behalf it is exercised. All the diplo-
that was ever put forth by ministers OF
state, since the Machiavellian period un-
til this good hour has been valuable
only in proportion to the real, substan-
tial good conferred thereby on the ma
tion Immediately interested therein, or
that indirectly resulted therefrom to
other states or nations.
With all due Difference to Spanish ma
tional pride, and with an open and
avowed respect for the historic glorics
that halo her name, not only as "The
feudal realm of old romance" but as a
once great maritime power that founded
colonies in almost every land under the
western sun, and in whose name and un-
der the protection of whose flag this
American continent was discovered AMI
added to the heritage of all the nations
of Europe-with all and more than this
to her credit kept in clear view, it must
still be confessed that Spain, in her
Guiding, with emphasis, 1.-The unfaithful
isle'' of Cuba, has not acted either wisely
or well.
The genius for successful colony
planting may or may not be an Anglo
Saxon trait. The Latin nations have,
in many instances, exhibited evidences
of it's possession and successful execu-
tion under Spanish, Portuguese and
Italian auspices. But excepting the
North American colonies of Massachu-
setts and Virginia, which were lost to
England by the pigheadedness of
George III and his ministers, the English
have kept pretty we'll all, or nearly all, OF
their colonial dependencies. But the
Spanish-American colonies, north and
south of the equator, have one by one
been lost to the mother country. The
reason of this is plain as any other fact
in history. England nourished and re-
spected the rights and interests of her
40
them in defense thereof. On the other
hand, Spain made the obtaining of rev.
enue from her colonial possessions the
first essential condition of their exist
ence, giving their welfare and prosper
ity but a secondary place on the pro-
gram of her foreign policy Spain
sowed the wind of oppression and reaped
the whirlwind of, first, colonial war and
revolution and, finally, of total extinc-
tion Of her power over her American
continental dependencies. She has been
pursuing this same insane policy as the
lord paramount of the island of Cuba,
and the result is bound to be the same.
Cuba has lost faith, permanently lost
faith, in Spanish promises of reform.
and will never rest satisfied this side the
line of political and commercial inde-
pendence of that country.
1t is amazing that Spain, the native
land Of Cervantes, the greatest carica-
turist of human folly in the annals of
literature, should not perceive and ap-
preciate the fact that her persistent eff
forts to keep Cuba as a Spanish prov
ince are but simply rivaling, on larger
scale, the performances of Don Quixote.
But the old adage, "There are none so
blind as those who will not see,'' may be
ta's cabinet, we are advised, contem-
plates the probability of war between
Spain and the United States, rather
than the yielding of Spain to the COM
mon sense of the situation. If by the
laundering folly of Sagasta's cabinet
Spain forces a war upon the United
States-and it will be only by such
blunder that Uncle Sam will put his
war paint On-the last crOWnlng act OF
Spanish infatuation and stupidity will
have been performed.
Speaking Of the possibility of hostili-
ties between the two countries, the Lo1i-
don Standard of the oath instant, says:
We are thoroughly alive to the cour-
age and patriotism of Spain. But she
would be hopelessly overmatched in
such contest Such a war would in
evitably mean the loss of Cuba after
a costly and disastrous struggle, which
Spanish craftsmanship ought to do
everything in its power to avoid. We
believe it is the idlest of dreams (for
SPAIN to hope for assistance from any
European power.
Let US hope, even against hope, that
the Sagasta cabinet will, even at the
eleventh hour, substitute the logic OF
hard sense for the sky-scraping nom
sense of Spanish pride and the Bourbon
ish sentiment of never forgetting and
never learning anything.
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NOT AS RADICAL AS EXPECTED