The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1897-04-05
g.. OUR HUMILIATING POSITION.

The action of the United States in the
assertion of the Monroe doctrine and
the resenting Of interference by Euro
pean nations in the affairs on and near
to the American continents gives such
nations as England ample excuse for
casting upon us the burden of putting
a stop to the barbarities in Cuba and
of interfering in the name of human
ity.
The threat of the Spanish to execute
General Rivera brings us face to face
with our duty, and we are to stand or
fall in the eyes of the world by the
step we next take Civilization has
brought with it certain humane rules
for the conduct of war These de-
nand that prisoners taken in battle
or in the course of a struggle Of war
shall be kept safely, clothed, housed,
sufficiently fed, and under certain cir
cumstances exchanged or paroled, and
at the close of the war set free.
The same laws insist that humane
treatment is the due of the captive,
and that he shall not be punished with
death except for treachery, the act Of
a spy or gross violation of the rules
of war. They demand that no punish
ment beyond imprisonment shall be
inflicted upon the prisoner. and they
protect the rights and lives Of neu-
trails and of acknowledgements.
Now, in the case of General Rivera,
he was taken from hospital or in course
of war. He was in command Of body
of troops waging war upon the Gov
eminent of Spain in Cuba. He repre-
scented a body of people claiming to
have established a form Of govern
rnent, and to have maintained it for
two years over large territory, with
civil and military officers; maintained
schools, issued commissions, collected
taxes, enacted and enforced laws and
to have sent to us Minister and his
retinue, requesting recognition which
we have thus far refused to give to
such representatives.
But Spain declares that there is no
state Of war in Cuba; that brigandage
and nothing more; that no State Of the
world has recognized these people as
belligerents; that the proclamations OF
the Spanish Government have coHtin-
ually pronounced the insurgents to be
incendiaries, robbers and bandits, and
that no nation of the world has pro-
tested against such official designation.
Therefore. their so-called form OF
government. says Spain. is not known
officially to any State of the earth, and
has not recognition anywhere save in
a few South American States, and in
those cases not even notice has been
served upon the Spanish crown. There
fore, Spain holds that she has the right
to treat the bandit Rivera as such;
that he is tried at drum-head court
because the civil laws are suspended
and martial law alone prevails in Cuba
so far as offenders of the Rivera class
are concerned.
This unquestionably puts the United
States Government in an awkward po-
sition. We decline to recognize the
belligerency of the insurgents. and
hence are all but estopped from saying
that a state of war exists in Cuba. We
are practically made to say that in
protesting against the execution OF
General Rivera we are asking for the
rules of civilized warfare to be ex-
tended over those who have not the
right to avail of them This leaves us
nothing but a plea in the name Of hui
mainly to Spain to be merciful to Ri
vera.
If to him, why not to all insur-
gents taken in battle, or in other course
of war? In one breath we say that
the Spanish should be guided in theii
treatment of captive insurgents by the
humanities of war, and in the next
breath we indorse the Spanish declara-
ton that a state of war does not ex-
fst. Yet at the same time we arres!
those who seek to aid the insurgents