The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-04-13
THE MAINE A cAsus BELL
Senate Committee Arraigns Spain
Directly

the senate committee on foreign rela-
tions on the Cuban situation was a very
thorough review of the entire situation
and strong presentation of the facts
which has led the committee to its con-
clusions. The report takes up the
Maine disaster as the leading topic for
considera ton and plunges into that
question in it's first sentence, which is
as follows: The destruction of the
United States battleship, Maine, of two
OF her officers and of 264 of her crew in
the harbor of Havana, on the night of
February Is, 1898, excited to an unpre-
cedented degree the compassion and
resentment of the American people,
Continuing, the report says: Mani
festatiOnS of that resentment were SuS-
pended, although the feeling was not
allayed by the self restraint of our peo-
pie, who determined to hold their judg-
ment in suspense concerning their ulti-
mate action until an official inveStiga-
ton should disclose the cause of that
great disaster and enable them by di-
rect, or clrcumstantial testimony to i'm
pute the responsibility therefor.
That investigation has been made. It
was conducted with judicial thorough
demonstrating by conclusive proof the
efficient personal cause of that sinister
event was the usual one of exposing
plotted and mysterious crimes. No
such difficulty, however, obscures its Of
fetal and responsible cause
The committee say that the explosion
itself of the Maine, was linked with a
series of precedent transactions, (which
cannot in reason be disconnected from
it. With an animus by Spain plain
ly apparent that no one can even plauS-
IDLY deny its existence it is merely one
reason for the conclusion to which the
investigating mind must come in con-
sidering the entire subject of the rela-
tiOnS of the United States with that
government. 1t is the opinion of your
committee that the destruction of the
Maine was compassed either by the Of
fetal act of the Spanish authorities, or
was made possible by a negligence on
equivalent in culpability to positive
criminal action.
when property and life are Destroy
ed by an act which the exercise of due
diligence by the person whose duty it is
to use it, could have prevented the hap
pening of such an event is sufficient
proof that that diligence was not en-
ployed.
THE time of the explosion" says the
report, must have been calculated, for
the moment when the Maine should
swing within the destructive radius of
Concluding this portion of its pre-
sentation, the committee says: 1.-The
duplicity, perfidity and cruelty of the
Spanish character as they always have
been, are demonstrated still to continue
by their manifestations during the pres
ent war in Cuba. All these circumstan-
ces considered cumulatively, warrant
lIAS COIICluS1Ou CLldl the OBSTRUCTION OF
the Maine was compassed either by the
official act of the Spanish authorities
(and the ascertainment of the particu-
lar person is not materially, or was made
possible by q negligence on their part,
so willing and gross as to be equiva-
lent in culpabi1ity to positive criminal
action
In taking up the more general sub
jects, the committee expresses the
opinion that the United States ought at
once recognize the independence of the
people of Cuba and also ought to inter
Vene to the end that the war and it's
unexampled atrocities shall cease, and
that such independence shall become
a settled political fact at the earliest
possible moment, by the establishment
by the free action of the people of Cuba
when such action can be held, of gov
ernment independent in fact and in
form"
The committee assert that the cause
of Spain has continually grown weaker
while the cause of the insurgents has
grown stronger and says that the few
reinfOrcementS now being sent to Gu
ba do not supply a tithe of Spains
losses caused by battle and disease The
western portion of the island is spoken
of as a deSOlatiOn created by Spain in
which portion of the island alone she
exercises a sovereignty. Calling at
tention to the policy of Spain, the COM
mittee says that over 200. 900 persons
have been killed as result of this ac-
tion and adds that there has been no
distinction of sex or age of this pro-
tracted torture and massacre. Chill
dren of this generation have been
starved to death and the immoIation of
womanhood has destroyed the possibil-
ity of posterity."
The opinion is expressed that it was
the intention of the contriver of this
policy to depopulate the island and re-
people it with Spaniards 1t is also as
serted that the Spanish government has
violated the laws of civilized warfare
in the slaughter of prisoners and the
of sick and wounded. The
committee discusses at some length the
two propositions for the recognition of
the independence of the Cubans and of
They say that because of the attitude
of the United States, this government
has placed itself in concurrence with
the acts of Spain ever since the begin
ming of the war and that we have in a
spirit of forbeara1nce submitted to many
atrocities perpetrated by Spain upon
our own citizens. which, under recognf-
ton, would haye had no warrant in in
ternational law and would have afford
ed just ground of procedure by this
government. Hence it is claimed that
this has been no real neutrality
throughout the entire war, as Spain has
had free rights of purchase in this
country, while the Cubans have not had
such rights.
The committee places the cost of our
Spain at $4,000. 900.
On the subject of intervention, the
committee says: Justification inter-
vention is strengthened to such cases
as the present, where the oppression by
a state of its subjects have been so in
veterate, atrocious and sanguinary as
to require intervention by other ma
tions in the interests of humanity and
peace of the world, for the purpose of
that government and es-
tablishing or recognizing another in its
place as the only means of extirpatiner
an otherwise incurable and dangerous
evil"
The autonomy scheme which was
promised and which was alluded to bv
President Mckinley in his last annual
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