The Roanoke times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1897-1977, 1897-05-26

Paris, May 25.-Besides being editor i'm
chief OF L'Intransigeant, Henri Rookie
fort is president OF the Cuban committee
OF Paris Tit5. according TO some, dis
counts the value of his utterances on the
Cui an question rs being tlctat ted bv SYM
pathy. According to others it gives them
peculiar value, as being based upon pri-
waite Information of especial Importance.
NJ. Rochefort had just returned from
Tying visit to the country when he WIS
interviewed this morning. He was san.
guinc OF the ultimate victory of the Gu
ban Insurgents and was charicteristicqlly
outspoken in his condemnation of Span.
ish rule and the tactics of Spanish Off
Gals in Cuba, both military and civil. NJ.
hochefort counts upon the United States
being forced to help the Cubans finally.
"The insurgents, - he said, care GER
thinly right in the object for which they
are fighting and they will as certainly Sc.
cure their freedom. am in position to
know, through the relations have with
the Cuban organizations both in France
and in the island, that the progress of
the revolution is satisfactory from the in
surgents' point of view
Spain is getting deeper and deeper in
the mirc every day. Her finances are in
II hopeless state of insolvency She is
about to attempt to raise another loan,
an attempt which is doomed to failure.
This time it is certain that Spain will
not receive the support of Europe to bring
the struggle in Cuba to an end. In fact
Europe itself is in somewhat the same
position ms Spain is; that is to say, in
dlfhcnity. 1t was easy enough for Europe
to say: we will bind ourselves and make
this famous concert of Europe, and i'm
pose conditions upon Greece We are
not afraid of Greecen or course Europe
was MT afraid. Greece is a very little
country, and has only it's spirit and cour-
age 30 depend upon, but in the case of
Cuba it is quite another matter.
Europe may not be afraid of Greece,
Tut she is mortally afraid of the United
States. Certainly no European power
will send warships into Cuban waters TO
help Spain, or, if war is declared between
the u nited States and Spain, will send
vessels to be sunk by the torpedoes at the
mouth of New York harbor.
Now then, rs far as the island is con-
cerned, the insurgents are practically
masters of the situation. say practi.
cally because it is true. The instruction
cannot be considered at an end while
General Weyler is there with his Spanish
troops. At the Same time Weyler is
helpless and is, in my opinion, both Inca.
pable and cowardly.
The insurgent spirit being undaunted
ard Weyler being powerless, it only re.
mains to be seen what action the United
States will take; that is to say. will Pres
ident Mckinley keep his promises, either
IN whole or in part? If he does, then
Cuba will be free within a short time. I
do not think it likely that President Me-
kinley will fail to take some action in
connection with this question that will
precipitate crisis.
1T IS certain that Spain alone will not
dare to go to war with the United States.
AS said before, she has no money. She
mas not even money enough to charter
transports, and certainly her finances are
not satisfactory enough for her to paw
her troops Thus, after carefully review
ing for and against the question, am
lrmly convinced that Cuban liberty is
not far Off, whether it be in the shape of
an independent republic or in the shape
OF unicn with free States of North Amer.
ica.''
Lintransi geanJ this morning contains
an extract from an article written bv it's
editor'in chic. for the Forum on this
very subject. In referring to American
intervention NJ Rochefcrt says
am firmly convinced that, aided or
unaideh, the Cuban patriots will carry
on the fight until the monster or pressing
them abandons it's prey But America
the Saxon and Latin America of Wash.
iheton and Bolivar-will not leave them
without help. America would deny her
principles, her history. her destiny, if, in
TINS mortal combat between republican
ilperty and monarchical despotsm, be-
tween tile future and the Dast, she con-
sented to let the latter strangle the for.
mer."
In direct opposition to the foregoing
view Capt. NJ. a. de Maugry, in the
Gaulois this morning, says: "The deduc-
ton TO be drawn from the affirmations of
Premier Canovas in Madrid is that he
has no doubt of the favorable issue of
the fight now going on in Cuba, and that
the optlmistic.hopes of General Wey Ter are
In Il fair way of being realized. In this
we must admit be is not altogether
wrong, for without Wishing to state that
the lnsufrection is on the eve of complete
repression or that absolute order is to he
re-established shortly in the Pearl of the
Antilles. it cannot bn routpctad tbot div,