The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-04-06
FREE
CUBA
ONLY.
Intervention without Inde-
pendence Will Not Do.
Cuban Junta Makes an Official
Declaration.
AS A FINAL RESORT
Cuban Arms Would Be Turned
Against the United States,
If Interference Be Attempted
on That Basis.
AS A FINAL RESORT
Cuban Arms Would Be Turned
Against the United States,
IF Interference Be Attempted
on That Basis.
THE CUBAN REPUBLIC
Must Be Recognized as the First
Step.

New York, April 6.-The Cuban junta
through its counsel, Horatio S. Rubens,
made an important statement today. 1t
declared in the most unequivocal Ian
ernment and +he Cuban army would re-
ject absolutely intervention by United
States unless it should be preceded by
a recognition of the independence of the
Cuban republic; that if the United
States persisted in intervening without
recognizing Cuban independence, the
Cuban government and military forces
would refuse to cooperate, and that if
the United States troops should be sent
to Cuba upon the basis of Intervention
without independence, the Cuban army
would in the last resort turn it's arms
against the United States.
The statement made by Mr. Rubens
was preceded by the following:
1.-THE declaration I am about to make
is official, for L am the legal representa-
tive of the junta and I know their unaI-
terable convictions and position. 1t is
in line with the utterances of the dele
gate of the Cuban provisional govern
ment to the United States, Tomas Es-
trada Palma, when the suggestion was
made that this government should
counsel the Cubans, and if necessary,
coerce them, to an acceptance of auto
nomy"
After quoting from the address to the
people of the United States, issued by
Senior Palma on March H. Mr. Rubens
says: In the face of the present pro-
posal of intervention without previous
fO,-
a step farther and say that we must
and will regard such intervention as
nothing less than a declaration of war
by the United States against the Cuban
reVOlutiOniStS
IF intervention shall take place on
that basis, and the United States shall
land an armed force on Cuban soil, we
snail treat that force as an enemy to
be opposed, and if possible expelled so
long as the recognition of a free Cuban
republic is withheld. do not mean to
say that the Cuban army will assemble
on the coast to resist the landine, of fed
eral troops but that it will remain in
the interior, refusing to cooperate de-
cIln1ng to acknowledge any American
authority, ignoring and rejecting the
intervention to every possible extent
Should the United States troops succeed
in expelling the Spanish; should the
United States then declare a protector
ate over the island-however provision
al, or tentative and seek to extend its
authority over the government of Cuba
anu the ARMY OIL nDeTaI1On, we would
resist by force of arms as bitterly and
tenaciously as we have fought the ar
mics of Spain.''
1T was L who yesterday from the
most trustworthy private sources of in
formation conveyed to the newspaper
reporters the forecast of the burden of
the presidents mesSage-interVent
without recognition of independence.
The forecast has been confirmed by
subsequent public events and the ac-
curacy of my information in this par
ticular should give authority to the in
formation even more important which
am now to divulge. 1t has been in my
possession for many hours and I have
hesitated between my duty as an Amer
lean citizen on one hand and on the
other as the legal representative of the
Cuban junta, but I regard the time as
now arrived when / must make these
facts known. I have it from a Spanish
authority high in financial circles that
the whole course now proposed by the
president is in pursuance of an under
standing between Washington and
Madrid, the object of which is to secure
peace in Cuba, Cuban acceptance of
Spanish autonomy, without the she'd
ding of drop of American blood or the
expenditure of another dollar of Amer
lean money. See how perfectly the
proposals, with this light upon them,
are adapted to work out to that end
the intrinsic evidence alone is almost
sufficient to prove the accuracy of my
information, which runs thus: 1t has
been agreed between Spain and the
United States that this government,
while declaring for Intervention shall
refuse. to recognize the independence of
Cuba. Tt is mutually hoped by the two
governments that the Cubans will then
become convinced that the object for
which they have been fighting all these
dependence-cannot be OBJ
tained and that they will accept per-
force first, an armistice, and eventually
autonomy under the Spanish flag. A
part of the program is that congress
shall empower the president to inter-
vene, but shall not direct him to do So |
The object of this will be to gain ample
time in which to persuade the CubanS
to make terms directly with SPAIN
"I assert again that this information
is trustworthy and it explains what has