The evening times., 1898-03-24

At
of that great convention hall, and 1t was
adopted as a part of the platform of the
Republican party by unanimous vote.
On the 29th day of June. 1896, William
Mckinley. standing upon his vine-clad
porch at Canton, Ohio. in accepting the
nomination then officially rendered him,
said:
The platform adopted by the Republican nation
al convention has received nv careful cOnsideTa-
ton and has my unqualified approval Ii Is
matter Of qualification to me. as ! am sure IL
must he to you and Republicans everywhere ana
TO all people that the expression OF its dec
laration Of principles direct, clear and EN-
phatic. They are too plain and positive t. leave
any chance for doubt question as TO their pur-
port and meaning.
That platform of the Republican party.
that Endorsement by it's nominee for
President. was ratified by more than T.
00).00) American voters. That platform
has marked my path of duty from the
hour of it's adoption up to the present
time.
The Party Must Keep It's Promise
1t is an honored boast of the Republican
party that it always keeps its promises
, and that is platform declarations are al
ways carried out by its Administrations.
/ have no reason to doubt, I have every
reason to believe. that the present Chief
Magistrate of the United States still
stands upon the platform of the Repubh
can party. have no reason to doubt.
have every reason to believe that he viii
make lis fulfllment part of TIE sIor-
ious history of the world.
Mr.. President. that platform was ADOPT
ed almost two years ago. Has there been
any such change i'm the Cuban <itIation
as to relieve the Republican party from
its obligations? None whatever There
has been no change except such as 70
strengthen the force OF our platform as
sertion that Spain has lost control of The
island Twice within the last two years
] have voted for a resolution according
the rights Of bclligerents to the Cuban
revolutionists.
Cuba Shall he Free.
believed at those times, I stiII believe.
that such a recognition on our part
would have enabled the Cuban patriots
to have achieved independence for them
selves; that it would have given them
such standing in the money markets
of the world. such rights on the. sea.
such flag on the land, that ere this the
independence Of Cuba would have been
secured, and that without cost or loss
of blood or treasure to the people Of the
| United States. But that time has pass
ed; it is too late to talk about resOlu-
tions according belligerent rights: and
mere resolutions recognizing the indie
Of h.
| avail but little. Our platform demands
that the United States shall actively usS
| its influence for the independence of the
! island.
| am not here to criticise the present
! Administration I yield to no man liy-
| ing in my respect, my admiration for
! and my confidence in the judgment. the
| wisdom, the patriotism, the American
| ism of William Mckinley. When he en-
! tered upon his Administration he faced
| difficult situation. 1t was his duty to
| proceed with care and caution. At the
| first available opportunity he addressed
| note TO Spain, in which he gave that
| government notice. as set forth in his
| message to the Congress of the United
| States. that the United States could be
| required to wait only a reasonable time
| for the mother country to establish its
| authority and restore peace and order
Nlluiil tut DOIueES VI the iSldnur Inat
! We could not contemplate an indefinite
| period for the accomplishment of this
| result.
The Presidents Message.
The President further advised us: This
| Government has never in any way abro-
| gated its sovereign prerogative of re-
| serving to itself the determination of
| its policy and course according to its
! own high sense of right and in conso-
, nance with the dearest interests and
! convictions of our own people, should
! the prolongation of the strife so demand.
This was the proper. the statesmanlike
| beginning of the performance of the
! promise of the Republican platform
/ 1t was in accordance with the diplomatic
! uSages and cusoms of civilized nations.
/ In the meantime the whole situation ap-
| parently changed. In Spain the lib
! eral ministry of Sagasta succeeded that
| of Canovas: the cruel and inhuman Wey-
| Ter was recalled. and succeeded by the
| humane Blanco, who, under the Sagas-
| ia ministry had unquestionably made
every effort to bring about peace in the
! island of Cuba under the promise of au-
| tonomy-undoubtedly decided advance
| beyond any proposition ever before made
| for the participation of the Cubans in
| their own domestic affairs.
| Spain Is POyyerIess
! 1t was the plain duty of the President
| of the United States to give to the lib
cradle ministry of Spain a reasonable
| time in which to test its proposed auton-
| omy. That time has been given. Au-
! tonomy is conceded the wide world over
to be a conspicuous failure. The situa-
| tfon in Cuba has only changed for the
| worse. Sagasta is powerIess; Blanco is
! powerless to put end to the conflict
| to rehabilitate the island or to relieve
! the suffering starvation and distress
| The time for action has. then, come.
| No greater reason for it can exist tomor-
! row than exists today. Every hours de-
| lay only adds another chapter to the aw-
\ full story of misery and death Only one
| power can intervene-the United States
| of America Ours is the one great nation
of the New World, the mother of Ameri-
can republics. She holds a position of
| trust and responsibility toward the peo-
! pies and the affairs of the whole Western
/ Hemisphere.
America Set the ExamnIe
| 1t was her glorious example which in
spired the patriots of Cuba to raise the
| flag of liberty in her eternal hills We
cannot refuse to accept this responsible
| ty which the God of, the universe has