Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-12-13
ON INTERVE
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will DO his best to give the minister means
with which to keep it in check, but in some
things Mr.. de Lone is asking impossible
tiles. The captain general is not fully
posted on the plans of the insurgents. He
cannot furnish the minister in advance
with news of engagements in which it may
be necessary to deny their success. They
did lay siege to Guisa, in the eastern part
of the island, and take 1t after fierce
bcnlbardme MT. That information could not
be suppressed until the Spanish troops got
renforcements and regained the ruins.
The insurgents are going to be pretty ac-
tive, and it is reasonable to lcCk for an
occasional success on their part, though
this Will not be conclusive Of ultimate vic
tory.
Insurgents Ideas of Near Future.
Mention CT the insurgents brings back
the inter- ogation point. They have their
ideas about the near future" Some of
item think that it means the coming Feb
ruary- insurgents proper are not suppos-
ed to dwell III Havana. There are. how
ever. persons dencninated as sympathiz-
ers who appear to be accurately inform
ed OF what is going on in the field and OF
the opinions of the men who are carrying
the guns and the machetes. This ella IS
has shown a surprising comp!acency over
the Presidents argument that they are
not entitled to the recognition either OF
Independence or beiligerency. To the lat.
ter little attention is now paid For a
month east the whole drift has been away
from it / have been repeatedly assured
siEce reaching Cuba that when Congress
acts 1t Will recognize independence. The
assurances on that point are perhaps a
little stronger here than in Washington
No definite reason. however, is given fol-
the belief that Independence will be rec
osnized IN February. Spain may lie $50
c0o,mn closer to bankruptcy, the insur-
gents may be keeping ali the forces Gen
Blanco can command busy in the field.
the volunteers in Havana may still be
threatening an uprising, yet the evidences
of decisive move of any kind are not
convincing enough to warrant predicting
that the crash will come then. However,
it must be recorded that the insurgent
definition of 4 reasonable time and the
pear future" is two months contra
d4Stin guished from the official Spanish con-
struction of year.
What Worries the Spanish Element.
The intransigentes, or -Spaniard ele-
ments, have not been taken into account in
these comments. One reason was that they
declined to give an account of themselves
For a few days they chose to ignore the
Presidents message and Congress as some
thing beneath the notice of loyal Spanards
But the resentment of the intranSigentes
is too deep to be entirely smothered. With
the youthful volunteers 1t blazes out at
times and disappears. With the older ones
1t burns steadily. Viewed in the abstract
this consistency of hatred toward the
United States has the quality of steadiness
that provokes admiration. While their SEN
timent shows itself, the ultra-SpaniarLS do
not undertake to answer the questions as
to what constitutes a reasonable time or
the near future. Some of them probably
feel that the United States, having slept
on the right of Intervention. which Mr..
Mckinley reasserts. through the acute
period of Weyler's despotism. there is no
need to fear action at all. The assertion
that such a right exists is what wounds
them. 1t is this which fills them with a
bitterness that cannot be appreciated in
other surroundings. American policy with
Cuba they say, sis blow at Spains SOW
ereignty." And, though SPANS sovereign
ty in Cuba today is a shadow, the loyal
Spaniard will war with the United States to
vindicate his patriotism. He is girding his
sword for the day of struggle, when, if the
shadow must be yielded, it shall be yielded
with honor.
The American Colony.
The colony of Americans in Havana has
also its opinion of what reasonable time
means. The opinion is a collective one
with individual variations. '.If left to Spain
it means till eternity" growled one of them
whose business interests ON the island were
cnce quite extensive. Now they are repre-
scented by claims for damages by Spanish
troops and insurgents filed in the pigeon
holes of the State Department to be con-
sidered along with others, possibly, as a
set-off to Spain's allegation of damages
from flbustering. His losses have soured
his Judgment somewhat. Other Americans
place the near future at from three to five
months They do not appear to conceive of
another year going by without Intervention.
Some OF them for business reasons would
like to see Spain succeed with autonomy.
They watching closely for the signs of
paciiication. which will enable trade and
industry to be resumed even in limited de-
gree. But they yet find little encourage
ment. though trade is a trifle better since
Neyler'S grip was loosened. They are skep-
teal of Spain's ability to successfully gov
ern Cuba under any system, and they are
lot enamored of the Cubans or the Gu
bans capacity for self-government So
their opinions come as near to being i'm
partial as ii is possible to find among so
many conflicting interests. Probably thi,
hard-headed and unsentimental American
view may be accepted as trustworthy in
dex CT the weight of opinion. 1t is not uni
versal because the Boston capitalists, whose
plantations are around Cienfuegos, still find
the country pacified and the people not
starving. One OF. them, Mr.. Stillman, is
Just back from Cienfuegos. His own ex-
perience is worth giving. He found no in
surSents and. except at Trinidad no suffer
ing from hunger. There was distress I'm
that neighborhood, but it was not due 10
the war or the acts of the government be-
cause the people had been suffering from
hunger for the past six years. Still food
can be had. Cats said Mr.. Stilman, are
sold for 80 cents apiece"
When the market price Of cats at Tr;ni-
dad is only SO cents it may be lypercritical
to assume that a condition of peace and
prosperity has not been reached which
will free the United States from fur
ther responsibility in Cuban affairs
Yet 1t must be recorded that this feeling
exists. The majority of Americans agree
with the minority of Spaniards and the
majority Of Cubans that the time necessary
TO demonstrate that Cuba is pacified and
autonomy established cannot be stretched
so as to avoid the intervention Of the Unit.
ed States. CHARLES NJ. PEPPER