Mexico weekly ledger., 1898-06-23
Whitley on The Spanish War.
SIGNIFICANT INCIDENT IN THE
MOVEMENT TO HARMoNIzE
MISSOURI DEMOCRATS.
Main Causes of the Trouble With the
P~eninsular Government Discussed
at a Meeting of the Jefferson
Club, st. Louis.
From the ST. Louis Republic.

From the st. Louis Republic.
Efforts to effectually harmonize the
Democrats of St. Louis have been
made since the elimination of Lee
Meriwether at the primaries held to
elect delegates to the State convention
at Springfield in view of the approach
ing campaign. One result which is
considered Of peculiar significance
was an invitation recently extended
L. R. Wiley by the Jefferson club
and accepted by him to deliver an ad-
dress at a meeting of the club.
Mr.. Wilfiey's speech was set for last
night, and an unusually large number
of members representing both fac
tions of the club rel present. Mr..
Wilfey's subject was "Our wal with
Spain, its causes and its justification"
He began by stating that the Nine
teenth Century had been one of social
progress. Political forces of the world
were being revolutionized and the
pendulum Of politics had swung from
monarchy and vas rapidly rising to-
ward Democracy. In the earlier his
tory of the race, the advocates of
kingly rule swayed an undisputed
scepter. But out of the debris of the
Roman Empire, in which that system
reached its highest development, had
sprung a tree around which the ma
tions seemed destined to gather, a
tree which was American constitu-
tional liberty. The desire of the in
habitants of Cuba to emulate Ameri-
| cans was the fundamental cause of the
present war.
The practical declaration of war and
recognition of the independence of
Cuba, according to the speaker, had
no precedent in the history of the
world. 1t was an announcement that
the United States did not approve
| Spain's method Of governing Cuba, and
| that Spain must surrender her sover-
| eighty.
Mr.. Wiley reviewed the auses of
the Cuban revolution and the history
of Spain for centuries past, and cited
the fact that she had eve regarded
Cuba as a place to be plundered. The
horrors of the struggle for Cuban in
dependence were briefly recounted.
| 1t was a war for human freedom and
| to consecrate a new land to liber-
lty. Therein lay the justification. That
this nation should go to war purely on
the ground of sentiment and expend
two millions of it's treasure daily pure
ly for the sake of humanity he consid-
| cred the most significant fact of mod
ern history.
No nation ever did a generous act
without having it's ideas elevated. The
| first result, therefore, was the abolition
| of sectionalism. Dewey was a reminder
to the South OF the courage of the
North, and Lee and Hobson had DEM
| onstrated to the North that the South
was not without bravery and patriot
ism. Another result would be a more
liberal foreign policy, accompanied by
greater freedom of commercial inter-
course with the world.
The final result of the war, the
speaker thought, would be q moral
and possibly a formal alliance between
this country and Great Britain. Eng
land had already shown her good
offices by preventing European assist
ance of Spain, and the kindly feeling
on the part of England was not a mere
impulse. MIR. Whitley declared that he
favored a formal alliance because he
believed liberty would be forced to
repose her hope of the future in the
Anglo-Saxon race.
At the conclusion of the address
there was loud applause and Mr.. Will
fey was the recipient of warm con-
gratulations. A vote of thanks was
rendered him.
Before the meeting adjourned ar
rangements were made for a mass
meeting to be held by the club next
Friday night to open the campaign
against the Charter amendments. A
committee was provided for to CO.
operate with the Real Estate Ex-
change committee in opposing the
amendments and the committee ap.
pointed recently for the Jefferson
Monument Association movement was
instructed to arrange a meeting with
a similar committee appointed We'd
nesday by the Merchants Exchange
1t was voted to continue all members
of the club who were at the front or
the membership roll without payment
of dues.