The herald., 1898-12-11
THE CUBAN DEBT
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

WASHINGTON, Dec. 1.-(Special Cor
respondsnce to The Herald. 1.-The Repubh-
can policy of intervening in Cuba is likely to
bear Dead sea fruit in the near future. The
treaty now about to be signed in Paris ap-
parently makes no reference at all to the
Cuban debt, leaving it to be inferred over
here that Spain will have to attend to this.
But international lawyers are now express
ing grave doubts of the accuracy of this be-
lief, holding that the French, German and
Spanish bondholders will have a very good
case against us.
There can be no doubt that had we ac-
ouired Cuba by conquest we should have
.been liable for all debts resting upon it.
This principle of international law is well
established, and it was to avoid its conse-
quences that President Mckinley refused to
accept sovereignty in that island. But it
is question whether he could legally do
this against the rights of other nations. On
the whole, it seems probable that we must
either force Cuba to assume the $400 000, 900
debt or must answer for it to the foreign
bondholders, thing that would not have
been necessary had we adopted the Demo.
cratic policy of first recognizing the Gomez
government.
The argument for this was most strongly
put by Senator Foraker, in the course of
speech in the senate on April l3 last. He
said: What will be the consequence to
this government if we 60 down into that
island, turning our backs on Gomez and his
government, denying that there is any gov
ernment there, banshng Spain from the
island, taking possession of the territory,
and appropriating the revenues either to
ourselves or to stable government that
we establish there! We would take the
rights and privileges and advantages at
tachng to the territory, and we would take
the debts fastened on it also, just as if you
buy piece OF property that is mortgaged,
you take IT subject to the mortgage and
must pay the mortgagor or lose your prop
erty. If Gomez takes the island by
revolution, the whole obligation is wiped
out, for those who successfully revolution
ize start anew, as all rsvolutionsts have
started from the beginning of the world.
If the United States takes the Is.
land by intermeddling, as writers on inter-
national law call it, she will become respon-
sible. The United States will step behind
s4OO, 100000 of Spanish Cuban per cent
bonds. Do you suppose the rulers
VI 0SiHdH anu OlutT COUNTRIES
whose subjects are interested as holders OF
these bonds, will hesitate to call us to make
them good? And then, we should have
other and far more serious complications"
1t is probable that we shall refuse, and
persist in our refusal to assume the debt of
Cuba. But when the powers of Europe go
TO the new independent government OF the
island and demand that the debt to their
subjects be made good, will we aid Cuba to
resist? And when, in the fulness of time,
Cuba wishes to come into the Union. shall
we not have to assume her debt with her
annexation? Nor can we avoid this by keep
ing her under our control indefinitely, for
that will certainly make lis liable under the
following principle OF international law laid
down by Hall and universally accepted as
just and binding: when a state ceases to