The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-03-03
AT A CRITICAL PERIOD.
President Mckinley Will Have
His Hands Full.
MUCH SKILL AND COURAGE NEEDED

The New Presidents First Efforts VIII BE
to Try to Restore Prosperity-Then He
VIII Attend to Cuba-But the People
Are Impatient.
WASHINGTON, March 81 Special. Pres
ident Mckinley will have n great deal OF
trouble on his hands in the very first days
of his administration. Not in many years
i'm fact. not since Lincolns first inaugu-
ration-has new president come into Of
fee at such a critical period. The Cuban
situation is a most difficult one to handle.
and President Mckinley will have need of
all his skill and courage If he is To carry
out his policy with success. AS yet II Is
premature for any one TO say that he knows
precisely what Mr. Mckinley S Cuban pol
icy is 10 be. But from reports which have
reached me from Canton through trust
worthy channels. and from the statements
made in public and in private by Senator
Sherman here in Washington. 1t is fair to
conclude that the new president has al
ready determined generally upon his line
of action.
A New Tariff Law First.
He docs not wish to intervene between
the Cuban insurgents and Spain till next
fall. Whether he will then be ready to do
so or not will depend upon circumstances.
But that for the present he wishes to hold
the whole matter in allegiance and to pre-
serve the peace without undue excitement
In the public mind is, think, pretty well
settled. The reason Is obvious. Major Nc
Kinley's mission in the presidential chair,
as he views 1t, Is to restore prosperity to
the American people. To restore prosper
ity he believes 1t necessary to enact new
tariff bill. For this purpose the extra SEES.
sion is to be called All the Mckinley pol
Icy since election day has been bent to this
end. International excitemcnts, wars or
rumors of wars, timidity on the part Of
capital, falling stock market, are not
things Major Mckinley wants in the early
days of his administration irrespective Of
what may be necessary later on. For this
reason he favors policy Of nonintervcn-
ton in Cuba till after the new tariff bill
has been enacted into law, placed in opera
tion and the country has had a chance to
recover from the long period Of depression
which has harassed it.
But there is another part of the McKin-
ley programme, so far as it has been ar
ranged, which will increase the natural
difficulties of the situation as the new
president has 1t to his hand. Major Nc
Kinley is not satisfied on the whole with
the efforts which the Cleveland admins
tration has made to protect American citi-
zens in Cuba He believes there should
have been more of show of vigor and de-
termination. In this respect Major Nc
Kinley sympathizes with what may be
called the ultra American point of view.
;s nd tbro,nh
and shares all the traditions 'and sym.
pathies and prejudices of the average pa
triotic American. 1t is safe to predict that
within ten days from next Thursday the
policy of this government toward Cuba
will be changed to considerable extent.
A warship For Havana.
One thing l understand is already prac-
tically decided upon. 1t is that one of our
warships will be dispatched to Havana,
with orders to remain there. Major Nc
Kinley, while not as yet committing him.
self to this programme, is so strongly In
favor of it that unless some good reason
appears after he takes Office why 1t should
not be done, look to see the order issued.
1t must be understood that the sending of
q warship to Havana Is not to be deemed
in any sense an act of hostility to Spain.
~ IiblOll Illus Il ItTlcCU IlSHt W pbutloh
warship in the harbor of another country
if it be deemed advisable. for the protcc-
ton Of its citizens or their property. Our
warships are stationed mt Smyrna. at
Seoul They have been stationed at Hon
olulu, at the port of Santiago, in Chile,
and there is no reason why they should
not be stationed at Havana. 1t is wholly
question Of policy.
Eofora iScIipn cuch m order Major Mr.
Kinlcy will inquire very carefully into the
situation He will satisfy himself that
there is real need of the presence of such
a ship in Cuban waters, and she could do
good by remaining there The danger Is
that the populacc of Havana will become
unduly excited mt the appearance of one of
our men of war in the harbor They might
look upon the innovation as tantamount to
a declaration of war. and trouble might
ensuc for Americans in that city and other
parts of Cuba. All these are questions
which the new administration will have to
consider carefully But If the order be
issued, and it probably will be. preceding
it will be u friendly notification to the
Spanish government that the action Is
deemed necessary for the protection Of our
citizens, and that the appearance of the
vessel at Havana need not be regarded as
other than a friendly act.
Cuban Filibusters.
Again, as l have already reported In
these dispatches, the new president has de.
cided that the department Of justice. the
navy and the revenue marine of this gov
eminent ought not to be used quite SO
| vigorously in running down and prosecut-
ing Cuban 1libusters It Is claimed by the
Cubans that the present administration
has leaned much too far to the Spanish
side: that IL has used the power of the gov
eminent in helping Spain prosecute and
punish men who were engaged in sending
guns and munitions of war to Cuba Pres
jdent Mckinley, as understand 1t, while
still desiring to enforce the neutrality laws,
will lean the other way and give the bcne
| fit of the doubt to the Cuban sympcthizers
At least he will not have the government
used as "a detective agency for Spain
Every one understands that II President
Mckinley adopts these policies he will
popularize himself in this country There
| 10 v,rofpnnh cvvn With Gph