Birmingham state herald., 1897-01-05
HU VANITY NOT TRADE Prompted J. T. Morgan to Cham
 pion Cuba's Cause. HE WRITES AN ABLE LETTER To the Mobile Chamber of Commerce, Giving
 Reasons for His Position. AS A PRIVATE AMERICAN CITIZEN Senator Money Creates Considerable Stir in the Cuban Capital by His
 Movements.
 
DID HE GO INTO HE REBEL CAMPS
Story of the Sinking of the Commodore as Told by the Captain-Scven of the Crew Missing-Weyler Returns
 to Havana-Butcheries.

Mobile Jan. 4.-The Mobile Chamber of Commerce made public yesterday the following letter from Senator John T. Morgan, of Alabama, which was received by the chamber in reply to some resolu- tions adopted by that body relative to the war in Cuba:
 United States Senate
 Washington, D. C., Dec. "A, 1896. To MT. A. Pope St. John, Secretary:-
 Dear Sir: In reply to their resolutions, please say to the Mobile Chamber of Commerce that in my advocacy of the Cameron resolution, relating to Cuba, have not found it necessary to consult or quote any fact, or any authority outside of the recent annual message of the President I have not claimed authority as senator to assist in protecting any rights except those of our own non combatative citizens who reside in Cuba or who have property on that island.
 Those rights have the three-fold pro- tection of the laws of nations, the treat ies we have with Spain and of humanity.
 AS to the Cubans, l have the sort of compassionate sympathy for them that as a private American citizen I am just iffed in feeling and expressing when the tyranny of absoluteiSm wages war of "extermination" against a people as nu- merous as the people of Alabama and in- fiict upon them crueties that only Tur- key and Spain practice against those who claim liberty of conscience and the liberty of self-government. I will have to re-advoeate myself and forget the his- tory of Alabama, unlearn the lessons l have been taught as to the value of those blessings to all mankind.
 I am not capable of weighing these rights and aspirations for liberty in scales that are adjusted only to weigh the gains and losses of trade. Nor do be- lieve any Alabamian would have me so far msrepresent gallant and Christian people. The Bourbon rulers of Spain will never allow peace to reign in Cuba, while those people are animated with the hope that they may enjoy liberties such as our people have. They must remain the slav- ish feudatories of Spain without the night to life or liberty at the will of the Span- fsh race, or they must perish.
 That sort of despotism will so con- stantly vex our people that our govern ment will not long be able to restrain them from doing violence to our own laws in order to drive such tyrants from our borders. If the Cubans fail in this, the fourth insurrection in this country, they will rise again and again until they have escaped from the hand of the op- pressors. Seeing this, I do not see how it can be possible for us to avoid be- ing drawn into the vortex of their troubles sooner or later.
 These are mot distant operations, and we are in proper respect for the president bound to accept his statement of the facts, which more than confirm the newspaper reports" against what the chamber of commerce warns us.
 It is not nasty action" to demand that the murder of our citizens should cease that those who are unlawfully inn prisoned should be released and that those unlawfully condemned to death or long terms of imprisonment in Africa should at least enjoy the right of civil trial in conformity with our treaties with Spain. All those crimes and even worse crimes are imputed to both Spain and the Cubans in the message of the president.
 The president denies that our people or our government are guilty of any 'in- trusion into the domestic affairs of people foreign to us in race, language and institutions" and prefer to accept his denials.
 "The commercial interests of our peo- ple'' are we'll entitled to cur most careful consideration. When the robber has fell ed his victim in the highway it is better that the United States should give the wounded man a little wine and pour oil into his wounds rather than to be led by even our commercial interests" to pass by him on the other side.
 With great respect, etc.,
 (Signed) JOHN T. MORGAN