The herald., 1898-04-17
OPINIONS FREELY GIVEN
BUT DIFFER AS TO WHAT THE
ISSUE SHOULD BE
CUBANS OR THE BATTLESHlP?
Those Seen Did Not Hesitate to Speak
Lightly of the Presidents
Attitude

The Herald yesterday interviewed a num-
her of public men of the city-municipal
county and federal-as to their opinion or
the present war situation, the Dan! news
of which all of them are watching eagerly
and are showing a deep and patriotic inter-
est in.
The federal officials refused to express
themselves fearing that what they mlsh'
say would compromise them with the
heads of their departments in washington.
But if their lips could only be unsealed'
All of them gave their opinions TO the IN
terviewer, but with the constant lnterJec-
ton, Now, mind, this is not to be pub
lished."
The city and county officers were more
ingenious, for they have no national gov
ernment to fear. All of them expressed
thems elves as being favorable TO immedi-
ate war but differed as to what the lead
ing issue should be. The choice lies be-
tween two propositions only, and they must
either prefer the Cuban matter or the more
recent Maine affair.
OF the sixteen interviews given below the
opinions are equally divided as TO the chief
issue. The more prominent ard best
known of the gentlemen think Cuba is the
pivotal point around which the situation
should revoive, and they relegate the blow
ing up of the Maine to subserviency. The
nucleus of the arguments of the Cuban ad-
herents Is humanitariansm. They assert
further. that it is the duty of man to save
the life that is in danger, for i; is beyond
human power TO reanmate the soul that is
dead with vital force; and that, therefore, 10
declare war because Of the killing of the
sailors of the Maine has now dissolved it.
self into a matter of principl and thai,
these men think. is of less consequence
than the steady and ntinual murder of
the defenseless Cubans.
The Maine sympa thizers, again, argue
from the Biblical standpoint of "a l!fe for
a life," and they believe that neither in
demnity, however large, arbitration nor
compromise on any basis. should be per-
mitted by the president, and that nothing
but immediate war with the sole purpose of
oblterating Spain as a nation will paliate
the wrong they believe Spain indirectly
committed.
One gentleman advances the interesting
idea that if this country could secure con-
troll of the West Indies it would then have
a complete waterway through the Panama
or Nicaraguan canal, and that is mater
worth looking into. for it would mean much
to the commercial interests of the Uni. ed
States. Another thinks Cuba is the right
ful property of America any way, but does
not deal explicitly enough with the ques-
ton TO give his reasons for asserting so.
Couu ilman Toll am not a prophet
neither has an ancestor of mine been one,
so / cannot say with certainty that there
will be war; but, according to the newspa-
pers, the indications point to it. l believe
in war prompted by humanitarian prnci-
pies, but Uot otherwise. think if there is
to be war 1t Should be declared and fought
upon the Cuban issue, making the Maine
matter subservlent to It. 1t IS the duty Of
man to try to save the life that is in dan
ger-that is humantarianism. The patrl-
OTIS of the Maine are already in their
graves, and neither war nor indemnity can
reanimate them. Cuba is so close to us,
and in war power so nconsequential and
practically defenseless, that it seems to me
20 be our duty to protect It from more
powerful antagonist as one would take the
part OF the weak man in a street combat
After Cuba is free then It would be time
and a fitting sequence to the whole TO
broach to Spain the Maine affair.
Councilman Ashman-We should have
war, and the Maine matter should be made
an issue. Then Cuba should be brought
into the affair and an effort made by the
United States to give it's citizens liberty
and freedom from Spanish tyranny
Councilman Nickel-It looks like war
now. and we should certainly have 1t: 9TH
erwise, under the circumstances, we will
lose our dignity as a nation. The Maine
matter is the important issue and that
ought to be settled in some way first. Then
liberate Cuba.