The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-11-10

AS Spain views US.
In a most interesting letter to the
New York Herald that eminent Span
ish republican, and reputedly the great
est statesman of his race, Senor Cas-
telar, INDUCES in some readable COM
ments on American diplomacy. In his
eyes our attempts at coping with the
expert diplomats of Europe are anus
ing--very. Our ministers are garru-
lous, tactless and pertinaciously bonn
bastic; to borrow a comparison from
the literature Of his own land, they
are a cross between Don QuiXote and
SanchO Panza-they make the astute
and machiavellian foreign ministers of
Europe exceedingly tired.
MANY persons" says Senor Caste
lar, "belleve that the Americans bear
upon the points Of their lances the
doctrine of Monroe. That is good. 1t
does not matter to them one fig. They
do not call the tried and proved pro-
gramme law, right, jurisprudence or
anything equivalent for the religious
respect felt by all Anglo-Saxons for
They call it doctrine--the doctrine of
Monroe. Why do they call it doctrine?
To interpret it according to the occa-
sion, the circumstances, the interests.
1t does not suit them that the French
should open the Panama route. They
straightway invoke the Monroe doc
trine. Do they themselves wish to
open the route by Nicaragua? Then,
not having sufficient money they con-
cede one whole half of the canal to
the English, in spite of the Monroe
doctrine. A good case they make of
Monroe. The name is not omitted from
one platform as they say; from
conveniency, as we say. Neither do
they lose themselves for the republi-
can form. 1t pleases them and they
prefer it to all others, but they will
not break a single lance for it. They
have never at any time lent any aid
to republicanism. Kossuth used to tell
me that he found in America a per-
sonal triumph similar to the triumph
of a Roman general. For his crusade
and his democratic war he did not find
one dollar They preferred, for their
gold, to hear the singer, Jenny Lind,
rather than to harvest by it Europe
to republicanism. And although they
always protested against tyrants the
United States was the first power to
recognize the two empires of America
the empire of Iturbide in Mexico and
that of Braganza in Rio Janeiro."
This candid critic has no fears that
the United States will do more than
talk in favor of freedom for Cuba.
He cites the course of our government
during Grants administration, when
despite the sputter of our congress, the
bluff ard buster of our minister at
Madrid, General Sickles, and the lin
goism of our secretary of state, Ham
ilton Fish, Spain went on along its
own way to the pacihcation Of Cuba
and swerved not a hairs width be-
cause Of Yankee pressure. Senior Cas-
telar is in fact cynically, almost brutal
ly frank in his contempt for the Ameri-
can government; and when one con-
siders how vacillatlng and indecisive
wi bDoil ppllNS mas Dtel, one cam
not much blame him.
1t is noteworthy in this connection
that the leading Cubans in this coun-
try agree with him, at least so far as
believing that the independence of
Cuba will have to be won in spite of
the government at Washington. Pub
lie opinion is all right, The sympathies
of the American people are not astray.
But a gag seems in some unaccount-
able manner to have been put upon
the officials that one would expect TO
obey rather than parry the pronounced
popular will. The jugglers at Madrid
rig up a fake scheme for binding our
eyes which they call Cuban admins
trative reform. They hush temporar-
lily the martial brutalism Of Weyler
and play a role of seeming contrition
and our government apparently falls
headlong into the trap, while the takers
at Madrid doubtless snicker in their
sleeves. This appears to be the pres
ent status Of the whole Cuban prob
| lem. Appearances are proverbially
| deceptive. We hope they are in this
| case.