The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-05-17
rlonster rIass rleeting Held in
Washington.
PROMINENT PEOPLE
ADDRESS THE CROWDS
RINGING LETTER FROM SENA-
TOR CHANDLER.
Duty of the American Government
Towards Cuba as He Sees TEX
Senator Butler Also Objects to the
Barbarous and Inhuman Methods
of Spain in Conducting the War.

Washington, May 16.-An enthusiast
tic audience of men and women, many
of them we'll known in Washington.
paced the Columbia theatre to its
doors this afternoon at a monster mass
meeting held in behalf of the Cuban
insurgents. The theatre was appropri-
ately decorated. Seated on the plat
form and participating in the exercises
were Senators Gallinger and Allen, ex-
Senator Butler of South Carolina and
Rev. Hugh Johnson, pastor of the
Metropolitan Methodist church, Rev.
WILDER Ennis and number of others
identified with the interests of the in
surgents. General William Henry
Browne, president of the Cuban league,
called the meeting to order and intro
duced Senator Gallinger as the presid
ing officer. The later made brief ad-
dress and read a number of letters and
telegrd rs of regrets, among them being
those from Senators Frye and Burrows
and Commander ClarksOn of the C. A. r.
Senator Chandler sent the following
letter of regrets.
A. A. Guirre, Washington, d. c.: Dear
Sir-Although unable TO attend the
meeting tonight / send a few lines of
sympathy and of hope for the relief
and independence of Cuba.
LAS l wish to see the United States
declare and maintain the independence
of the island as France did that of the
American colonies and made the United
States d nation, of course 1 shall as a
practical friend vote for every minor
method tending TO the same beneficient
end. / hope and believe that congress
and the president will soon formally
recognize a state of war and Cuban
belligerency. This step. followed as it
viii be by all the other independent ma
tons of the western hemisphere cannot
fail TO insure the Cuban independence
which is sought for.
Moreover, without delay. we ought
to send fleet to enter the harbor and
an army to land upon the soil of Cuba.
first 10 protect the lives and property
of American citizens and secondly TO
stop the atrocious and uncivilized
methods of warfare adopted by the
Spanish generals.
In advocating all these measures, I
am conscious of no passionate hOstil-
ity to Spain In 1851 she recognized the
southern confederacy within less than
three months after its military struggle
began, and surely if Spain cannot hold
Cuba without making one vast desert
ants into the cities to starve. and by
hanging, shooting and garrotinS Gu
ban officers and soldiers for rebellion
and incendiarism. Shc ought to lose the
island. If between 1851 and 1865 one
confederate general had been thus put
to death all the powers of Europe
with one accord, would have sent their
ocean, to end such barbarous warfare
and to establish and maintain the
southern confederacy. Yet General
Robert E. Lee and all his generals
were as truly guilty of rebellion and
incendiarism as was Theodore MendeZ
Gonzales, who was sheet for that of
Tense at Cabanas fortress in Havana
on Monday last.
We blame England for abandoning
the harmless and peaceful Armenian
Christians to massacre by the MoslemS
and for submitting the liberty-loving
Greeks 70 slaughter by the Turkish
despot. England retorts that we dare
not stop the methods of unciViliZed
warfare applied at our very doors in
the American Crete-the faireSt land
of Cuba: and both charge and counter
charge are justly made.
In helping to make Cuba independ-
ent we are observing traditional and
universal American policy; the duty TO
promote at the first good opportunity
the severance of Cuba from Spain In
1896. also. the Democrats pledged them
selves to do this by their declaration
of sympathy of the people of Cuba in
their present struggle for victory ard
INDEPENDENCE and the Republicans
by their promise that the United States
should endeavor to restore peace and
give independence TO the island
There need be little fear that these
pie Ssas viii be violated. President
Mckinley willingly recognizes the
binding force of the platform upon
which he was elected, and will soon
do his part towards making Cuba free
and independent. He may proceed with
what may seem to some impatient
spirits to be undue caution, with The
cries and groans ringing in his ears
of Unarmed men, women and children
enduring inhuman cruelty and bastard
~ murder. but he will not fail to be
faithful in his pledges and he Will be-
fore long register the decree which
went forth in his triumphant election
that Cuba should be taken out of the
control of SPAIN and made peaceful and
Independent. In this faith in a great
party and its president let us rest
patiently and most hopefully. Very
respectfully.
"WILLIM z. CHANDLER
Mr.. Carl Decker of Washington, who
as CORRESPONDENT OF the New Ork
Journal, spent much time in Cuba,
with . branch of a Cuban army iii
Santa Clara province, gave a descrip-
ton of the condition of affairs exist
ing and of the pitiable plight of many
of the people suffering for the necessi
ties of life. He ridfculed the claims
set out b. General Weyler that the
island had been Dacified and said that
if the Cubans were granted belligerent
rights by the United States they would
certainly win. Mr. Decker has just re-
turned fro Cuba.
In the course of his remarks, Sem
ator Allen of Nebraska hCmorously de-
clared there was no division in the Pop
ulist ranks on the question of Cuban
liberty In this whole matter he
thought there had been too much
sacrifice TO a spirit of commercialism,
and it was time this government had
little more humanity and little
more Americanism. He declared that
the United States could not afford TO
have a decaying monarchy with foot
hold in this continent and he would be
delighted to see Spain and the Ottoman
empire wiped from the map of Europe.
If the president were to send a fleet to
Havana. war in the island would cease
ir 80 lays and it would not be necessary
to fire a gun If the United States
should cav IN SDain lyon shall not