The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-02-28
THE RAWLINGS OF MADMEN.

| ban question. Even papers that on or
binary occasions pretend to be sensible
and fair, rave like madmen over the
| undiluted fictions that have been in
! vented to throw al ound the Cuban sit
uatien; and the Pioneer Press, for one.
falls in with the United States senate
in raging over the Sangully affair aft
er the news of his pardon has been
received. 1t not only does this but
says that the lying demonstrations of
the enemies of Mr. Cleveland are iusti-
fed by 'the outrages and indignity to
winch American citizens in Cuba have
been subjected" Neither it nor any
OF it's associates in this villainous work
brings bill Of particulars They know
as well as they know anything that,
| Whatever their policy may be, Mr..
Cleveland and Mr.. Olney are Ameri-
cans first Of all, and as ardent and
uncompromising in their assertion of
American rights as any patriot could
desire How far they have been misled
by the manufactured reports Of Span
ish outrages upon American residents
in Cuba, which have been circulated as
abundantly and diligently as campaign
lies during a hot political struggle, we
do not know, but it is the business of
every reputable newspaper to make
sure of it's facts before it INDUCES in
wholesale editorial denunciation.
We commend to the study of all
these gentlemen, if they have not wholly
lost the desire to be fair, an article by
Mr.. William E. Curtis in the Chicago
Record of recent date. Mr. Curtis is a
! well-known and reliable newspaper
correspondent. He is, furthermore, a
Republican Of the most pronounced
partisan type. He hates Democracy
and Cleveland and everything con-
nected Herewith as only the bigoted
Republican and devotee Of protection
can hate them. But Mr.. Curtis is also an
American, who loves fair play and is
| not unregardful Of the truth We have
no space to quote at length Mr.. Curtis
powerful and exhaustive letter. but it
| absolutely refutes and utterly over
throws almost every statement made
by the untempered critics of the adj
ministration in the senate and in the
press. Mr.. Curtis says that he has
very little sympathy for the victims
of their own indiscretion, who are now
appealing for the protection of the
government of the United States" Ad-
| hitting freely that horrible outra ges
are committed on both sides in this
desperate struggle in Cuba, he asserts
that the alleged indignities upon Amer
| leans are fabrications. Speaking of
Mr.. Scovel, one of the injured, he SAYS
| that he has been engaged in passing
between the lines as newspaper cor
respondent, has violated the ordinary
laws of war, has been twice arrested
and twice released, and sent out of the
country, has returned under an as
sumed name with forged passport,
! and that il he had behaved in a SINH
lar manner during our civil war, che
would have been shot without further
ceremony" Mr.. Curtis gives a list of
eighteen insurgents who have claimed
the protection Of the United States
flag, with Julio Sanguilly at the top.
Of these he says:
Undoubtedly many of these are very worthy
! gentlemen, but it may be positively asserted
| that all of them are natives of Cuba. who
! came to the United States with the intention
OF obtaining naturalization papers in order
1 licrhf horyn
! lection Of our government in case they got
| into trouble with the Spanish authorities
Ihey are what are called paper citizens
| Iney contributed nothing to the welfare of
! our country, but have abused its hospitality
and have attempted to involve the United
| States In complications with foreign power
| one OF them is In sympathy with the spirit
/ of our institutions. They simply seek an
asylum in the United States when they
want to escape the consequences OF their hos
! tidty to the government under which thew
were born.
Then Mr.. Curtis gives the other side
of the question as follows:
The treatment of Americans in Cuba is
6 6nssful compared with the treatment of
properly this is not revolution and we
nave no business taking sides. In re-
cent letter from Jacksonville l described the
boycott that had been declared against the
spanish consul In that city and the American
lawyer who was acting as counsel for the
spanish government IN the prosecution of the
flibusters. Nobody ever speaks to them
except upon Official business or to Insult
them. They dare not go to church or to any
place of amusement or public resort for fear
of melting a riot. They could not live at
hotel. No hotel would receive them
Turning to a report which has been
more credited than any other, because
it comes from an apparently more re-
sponsible source. Mr.. Curtis exposes
Mr.. Richard Harding Davis, as guilty
OF offenses as great as those of the
most reckless correspondent Of a
New York sensational daily. He
says that Mr.. Davis accounts of
the situation in Cuba are imaginary
and highly colored and spiced at that
His charge that a woman, accused Of
being spy, was treated with great
indignities is fully ventilated This
woman was arrested and searched by
woman detective In a private state
room, and has since boasted that, not
withstanding this, she did carry con-
cealed dispatches and succeeded In
bringing them through She now talks
Of bringing suit against the paper in
which Mr. Davis letter was published