The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1897-12-16
THE PRESIDENT SCORED.

Hon. Hannis Taylor, ex Minister
to Spain, in response to a request
from the Associated Press, gives ex-
preston to his views upon that part
of the Presidents message relating
to the Cuban question, with which
he takes issue in very forceful man
ner. Much weight attaches to Mr..
Taylor's views because of his close
study of the situation and of his
opportunities for getting at the in
side facts, and we incline to the |
opinion that he comes nearer than |
the President to expressing the pre-
dominating American sentiment in |
reference to the matter.
At the outset, Mr.. Taylor says, in |
reference to the Presidents Cuban
policy:
quitting aside the irrelevant mat
ter by which it is encountered, the
substance of the only recommends
ton actually made by the Executive
to Congress upon that subject is that
this government cannot venture to
do anything to put an end to the
inhuman strife which, during the last
three years, has reduced the island
almost to a desert, because there is a
prospect of settlement between the
combatants upon a basis of a So
called autonomy lately put forth by
the Sagasta Ministry. l believe that
Congress should firmly and scorn-
fully reject such a policy of irresolu-
| ton and non action, because the
assumtion upon which it is founded
is an empty Illusion"
Mr.. Taylor refers to the Sagastan
policy as "a craftily incomplete
proposition that carries with it no
constitutional guarantee whatever"
He speaks of SPANS failure to con-
quer the Cubans after ''three years Of
| wholesale destruction" and the ex-
penditure of an immense amount of
money, and says that the indefinite
and illegal autonomy now proposed
has been extorted by "the results OF
a struggle that has SO completely
broken the military and financial
power of Spain that a conquest OF
the island is now hopeless" Furth-
er, he asks who will say that all the
fruits the Cubans "have won through
death by sword and famine, should
in the hour of victory be surrendered
tor an empty sham, which means
only new bondage under their old
and pitiless oppressors 2"
Proceeding to score the President,
the ex Minister says "this heartless,
selfish message has not one word of
encouragement or sympathy for this
suffering people," He says Congress
is politely told to attend to it's own
business; that if recognition OF
belligerency shall become necessary
in the future the executive power will
act without Congressional interior
ence. He intimates, also, that there
is conspiracy to thwart the will of
the nation through an appeal to the
Speaker of the House of Representa-
tives, who will SO manipulate the
rules as to prevent the passage of the
pending belligerency resolution which
the Senate has already approved.
Mr.. Taylor says the time has come
for popular demonstration to over
rule the administrations selfish and
short-sighted policy He is in touch
with American sentiment in advoca
ting belligerency and says if it is
granted there can hardly be doubt
that Cuban independence would be
obtained within twelve or eighteen
months without one word of aid or
sympathy from us.
In conclusion, ex-Minister Taylor
broadly intimates that the present
policy may lead to trouble and that
the United States may have to main
tain at the point of the sword the
contention that no European power
other than Spain shall ever possess
Cuba. In this connection, he says
"Out of such possible difficulties
the way is now clear and easy. Let
the pending belligerency resolution
be promptly passed by the House
and Spain's power in Cuba will
collapse like a punctured balloon.
For that reason she is making a
desperate fight against it with the
aid of the present administration.
Only through the triumph of the
revolutionary government can per-
manent and lasting peace be estab-
lished in Cuba; only through a
prompt and decided expression OF
sympathy with that government can
we extricate ourselves from a dilen-
ma which is fast growing into the
most shortsighted and disgracefuI
episode in our national history"