The Portland daily press., 1897-05-21
SPAIN AND THE UNITED STATES.


One interesting and important fact was
brought out in the debate on Cuba in the
Senate on Wednesday. 1t was that Secre-
| tary Olney in April 1896 offered media
ton and received the reply that an indis-
pensable condition of mediation was the
submission of the rebels. Of course this
refusal makes it pretty evident that it
| would be useless now for the United States
| to extend its good offices, for the situa-
tion has not changed SO materially as to
| render it likely or even possible that
Spain would now accept what it rejected
last year. If we are going to do anything
to end the Cuban war we must do it with
| out the hope of any cooperation on the
part of Spain
1t is fair to presume that the friends of
the resolution just passed by the Senate
which recognizes the belligerency of the
Cuban insurgents expect that such recog-
milton will have a strong tendency to put
an end to the war. The stopping of the
war is the principal object they profess to
have in view, and if they did not think
that recognition of belligerency would
tend in that direction it is reasonable to
| suppose they would not advocate it. Yet it
| is difficult to imagine by what process of
| reasoning they arrive at that conclusion,
| unless they believe that it would draw
| us into war with Spain and thus make
us virtual allies of the insurgents. The
recognition of belligerency confers upon
the rebels no rights or powers that would
materially strengthen them from a mill
| tary point of view. 1t would furnish
| them with no troops and no munitions
OF war that they do not have now. In
deed, If it had any effect, it would make
1t more difficult to get arms, for once
having recognized a state of war in the
island, we should be under obligation to
preserve the strictest neutrality and not
permit either of the belligerents to buy
arms or munition of war in this country
Now the Cubans can buy whatever they
can pay for. Possibly recognition would
give the insurgents a better moral stand
ing, but that Of itself would aid them very
little in carrying on war against the
Spaniards. 1t is impossible to discover
| any way in which the recognition of
beiligerency would materially help the
insurgents except by drawing the United
| States into the conflict, and this being
| the case, it would seem to follow that
that is what Senator Morgan and the
other friends of the resolution really want
and expect.
+bic To 1,ft ,a;,
| they are open to the grave charge of de-
ceiving the country There may be good
grounds for the interference of the United
States in this conflict as means OF
bringing it to an end. A strong argu-
ment based on humanitarian considera-
ton can be made in favor of such a
policy. But if interference on the part of
the United States is what they contem-
plate they ought to say SO openly and
frankly. They ought not to advocate
recognition of belligerency without letting
the country know that such recognition
is liable to involve the country in war
with Spain, and that unless it does this
it will have little or no tendency to put a
stop to the war in Cuba 1t would be
much more manly and honorable conduct
on their part to propose direct interior
ence on the part of our government to
stop the war. Then the question would
be brought before the people in way
that would admit of no mistake or mis-
apprehension. The people would then see
just what the risk was which they were
taking and could decide intelligently.
Furthermore such a course would be
much more defensible before the world
than the one they are proposing to take.
Senator Forakers idea of direct interior
ence is far better than Senator Morgan's
idea of indirect interference by recogniz-
ing the belligerency Of the rebels; and
the danger of the former policy involving
us in war with Spain is no greater, if
indeed it is SO great, as that of the latter
If the United States should declare in
plain English that the war in Cuba must
be stopped within a certain period or it
would stop it we are inclined to think
that Spain would find some way to stop
it. When the time for interference on our
part has come such interference should
be open and direct.