The Newtown bee., 1898-10-14


SpaDjards at Bahia Honda, with several
hundred Of his comma; d. including Col
CrItrenden OF Kentucky, son of the
American sec etary of STATE at Washing
tor, and was garrOted on the LIST day of
Ser tember, 1851.
Tha three LDpez expeditions were the
first organized pat riotic effort to liberate
cuba from Spanish tyranny. The Cuban
flag, with ir9 solitary star Of white in a
triangular fiald of blood, with bands of
blue and white, the el1blems of truth
and innocence, was then inaugarated and
has ever since then maintained it's dis
inctye position as their banner of liber
~ and independence, which at last
thanks be tn God, and to the American
people, -af02t and ashore-has become
realty, but at what q sacrifice and
suff-ring
On the 10th Of October, 1868, at Yara,
in Eastern Cuba, the fig of the Solitary
Star was again. for the second time I'M
furied Oh that Unhappy Island"
IN BLOODY. BARBAROUs AND PROLONG-
ED STRUGGLE
of 10 years duration, with sacrlnce of
over 200, 900 lives O. very large percent
age Gus of Il population of 500, 900 peo-
pte)principally consisting Of women and
chi dTen and ag d and helpless non-com-
batants, who " ere mostly murdered in
cold blood, after having been tortured
and outraged with cruel barbarity by
the brutal and licentious sodierg of the
Spanish army. The loss of life among
che Spaniards during that 10 years war
exceeded even that of their victims,
through sickness and war and perhaps
through the vengeance of Heaven.
Countless heart sickening horrors fill
nd [I T1E T,I,n j a,
ord struggle to tlrOw off their tyrants
yoke. Some of the dearest relatives and
friends of yOur speaker lost their lives
and property through murder, and tor
ture and pillage and war, as some of my
audience personally know from their &C.
Quaintance with some Of the survivors
who had taken refuge among them in
Danbury before their return to Cuba af-
Ger the termination of the war.
On the 245h of February 1895, for the
third, and let us hope for the last time,
the oppressed people of Cuba, arose and
struck for their liberty again, and strug.
2led with varying success and defeat
under the agrivated tyranny and brutal
ity of the
INFAMOUS AND EXECRABLE CAPTAIN
GENERAL vALIRIANO WEYLER,
and hi9 unscrupulou5 janizaries, with
whose crimes and atrocities under the
guise of war, are too well known in this
city, and are too shocking to bear repe-
UitiCn here.
1t is said ''give rogue rope enough
and he will hang himself" and it so hap
pened one night in February last, be-
tween the hours of 9 and 10 in the even
ing, our good battleship, the Maine, on g
mission of courtesy and friendship to the
Dons, anchored in the harbor Of their
capital, in the place and position directed
by the master of the port, and where
without notice and without warning,
was suddenly and violently blown TO
atoms, with 266 of her officers and crew,
by submerged mine or gigantic torpe-
do. The echoes of that explosion roll
ed from the Gulf to the Lakes, from the
shores of the Atlantic to the Western
ocean, and with lightning speed it filed
and thrilled the world with horror and
amazamenb at such an act of fiendis h
perfdv and treachery In q pretended
| friendly port.
| The Cuban patriots had already adopt
ed a constitution, and created a govern
ment, republican in form, and had sent
delegates to this country, asking the
recognition of Cuban Independence, or at
least TO grant them belligerent rights, so
|
procure munitions Of war, arms, provis-
ions, medicines, etc, in the United States
The Cuban cry was heard, bat UNDECIDED
| by our government, until the bio wing up
and destruction of our good battleship
in Havana harbOr. Our Congress being
in session at Washington thew voted
promptly and without dissent, $50, 000
900 for the President TO use at his discre-
ton as an emergency fund, and in April
last, war against Spain was declared
unanimously, by the United States Of
America, and the battle-cry of s'Remem.
Der the Maine" was sounded to drown
''the deep damnation of her taking off,"
THE WAR BEGAN IN APRIL
and lasted Just 113 days, being one weeE
less than four mouths. Dewey had in
that brief period captured the city and
harbor OF Manila on the other side of ths
globe, and sunk and destroyed the Span
ish feet of Montojo, and lost but on,
man in the fight and little paint from
offbhe outside of his battle ship Balti
more. Ga this side of the water, Mile
and ShafGer in our army, and Sampson
and Schlev In the navy, have destroyed
and sunk the Spanish Admiral Cevera'
feet without the loss Of ship or sail
or on our side, and have immortalized ii
the annals of naval achievement Lieu
Hobson and his seven brave companion
! on the Merrimac in the throat of the bar
Dor of Santiago de Cuba, and have cap
, tured that city and province, and th
Spanish army, and sent them home o.
, our own transports at the expense OF on
i National government, as an object lesso
in the wnrnl's history of the magma
miniry and generosity of the Great Re
: public.
! Porto Rico and its belongings ID no,