The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-03-30

their city news columns Thousands had
been starved. millions of dollars of our
legitimate commerce has been swept from
the high seas, and the man who worshtps
the eagle on the dollar ana does not see
the one on his flag says: Be silent; think
Of the horrors Of war and dangers to bust
ness When the order OF concentration
came they cooped at least 500 American
citizens with the reconcentraGos ana re-
fused to allow them TO go out and earn a
legitimate and honest living. IL amounted
10 Imprisonment. We claimed so at the
time. yet many Professed not to believe
until the honorable senator from Vermont
described the dead line and the gun of the
trades together. Any other self-respecting
nation in the world would have ordered
their release and better treatment or they
would have opened the gates OF Esll on
Moro Castle. This government, however. on
The suggestion of the President. took S5OO0O
Of the peoples money out or the treasury
of the United States and begged permission
of Spain the poor privilege of feeding cur
citizens American bread On Spanish soil.
SPAIN THINKS WE ARE EDWARDS.
81 am not complaining, am not critics.
ing; there is no other such record in all the
history OF the world / only repeat this
humiliating statement to call attention to
the fact that every effort that has been
made by the President has been construed
by Spain to be an act Of cowardice and alb
solute and conclusive evidence that we are
afraid of that mighty power, and every
such act of careful consideration on or
part has made Spain more cruel to her OWL
people and more insulting to us.
Mr.. Mason then turned his attention to
the destruction Of the Maine. THE battle
ship Maine, our gallant ship" he said.
went down and 26S of our gallant citizen
sailors with her. At the time, every citizen
familiar with Spanish character felt conn.,
deaf Il was Spanish treachery. Our ship
WIS there by right of custom, or rendered
hospitality, and also by treaty contract she
had an absolute right to be there. The day
closed and she rode the harbor messenger
of peace. No message had been sent by our
executive inconsistent with the national
honor of Spain. our only offer was TO try
and restore peace, alike honorable to all.
Our treasury had been opened 10 FEED our
people. Definite plans were not even sug-
gested by the President, fearing to fnjure
our relations with Spain. Spain could not
conquer her 0wn insurgents. HAD we Deen
a grasping nation we could. at any time
within two years. have made aggressive
and fOrcible annexation, taking advantage
Of the crimes Of Spain and the misfortune
Of Cuba
night natural and proper time for Spanish
bravery Our men were asleep IN a iriendIy
their courage. They. were not whipped IN
honorable battle, but choked, burned
strangled and drowned without a chance to
die fighting for life. without a moment to
say a prayer. In the twinkling of an eye
they stood in the presence of their Maker
Suppose ninety of them had been 9n hde.i
members of Congress or made up of judges
and leading professional and business men,
would forty days have elapsed before war
began? Or suppose each senator nad q sol, son
or father there. Do we tell our children
the truth when We say that the NE e,, Oh S b
fore the law? They were not senators, tney
We're sailors. Their widows and orphans cry
aloud to us, the silent appeal OF 26S seam men
COMES to us again and again, saying, we
are flesh Of your flesh, bone OF your bone
and blood CT your blood; We loved and died
49, a. t1rNss lni nIA &c
our answer? Shall we answer with money!
MIR President / speak only for myself
and am for war oApp a ey IN . 1De say
YOU are for war-sag that you are Tor
armed Intervention, which means war. !
believe in calling things By their ngnI
name If we believe that numbering our
men, sinking our ship ard lowering our nag
IS not P aus tho for ySTrn ay affair III and allow
our brothers to be sold like stock Tor goio
If il is a cause for war. let us assume the
responsibility put upon mus US 10y s sne bnt to
the whole world. Let us not say one thlng
and mean another. For Gods sake let US
not Spanishize our diplomacies, but rather
speak the truth and prove ourselves true
disciples of James G. Blaine.
READY TO VOTE FOR WAR.
we can hide no longer under the execu-
tive wing. He can neither declare war nor
refuse ii. Congress alone can declare war.
!. for one, am ready to vote now. You may
&C ntinue to cry peace, peace, but there can
be no peace while Europeans own and
butcher their slaves on the same continent
where our flag floats. But there are those
who say that the court does not fix the re-
sponsibility: it was not necessary The
peace-at-any- price men cannot escape SO.
The law fixes the responsibility, We were
in Spanish waters and over Spanish soil.
The harbor is owned and controlled by
r-t,, in fhaf ba
owned and controlled by Spain. If it was
q torpedo it was a Spanish torpedo; IL II
was a mine il was a Spanish mine, no ex-
plosives having been ON sale in Hayana Tor
gun cotton 1t was Spanish gun cotton ana II
It was dynamite it was Spanish dynamite
The power to explode it was controlled by
Spain. A government acts only through its
agents and officers as much as they con-
trolled the discharge of their cannon. 1t
was owned, located and exploded py Spain,
and Spain must answer.
st shall oppose any plan to assist Spain
to place any kind Of autonomy lo III, IN Gu6a.
Use and we cannot undertake TO compel her
to. Aside from that, poor Cuba has paid a
larger price for liberty than we did, and she
must be free. 1 shall oppose any plan that
looks to forcing Cuba in the future to pay
Spain in cash for her liberty. Her land Is
ful of graves, and her future generations
must not be mortgaged. 1t Is claimed by
some that Cuba ought to be willing to pay
SPANS Cuban war debt, cuba TO pay tor
10 pay for the torches that burned her
homes to pay the back wages of the Span
ish soldiers who ravished their wives and
daughters. Never. by any vote or mine.
Some tell us we must wait for the span
ish elections. If her elections are as rotten
as her diplomacies we cannot wait. 1t is
claimed that if we will wait until the span
iah elections Sagasta will give all conces'
sions. Are we to be fooled twice with the
same trick? Is De LONE so soon forgotten?
Some tell us we are not prepared: When
shall we be better prepared? VIII II be
when the Spanish torpedo fiotilla has
crossed the water and rests cOmplacently
on her base of supplies within five or six
hours distance of our fleet? We know now
officially what we have believed for forty
days. Shall we wait until she can destroy
more of our ships and men? God forbid
that such crime should be charged to us.
Let us awake, shake off the Chinese mar
cotic that locks us in drowsy incidence,
murmuring peace at any price Let US
awake as our f0refathers did at Concord
ard Bunker Hiif; awake to glorious war
against a nation that burns homes and
murders women and children: awake TO
glorious war that seeks no gain for US IN
treasure or territory but a war to drive
the oppressor from the continent; TO set
the Cuban flag in the sky forever, ana a
war that viii help us for generations to
come by giving notice that the honor OF our
Tag and the lives of our citizens must be
respected among the nations of the world. :
Applause in the galleries.l
MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS.
At the conclusion of Mr.. Masons speech
bsl providing for national exposition of
American products ard manufactures in
philadelphia, for encouragement of the ex-
port trade, and appropriating $4,000 there
for was passed.