Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1898-03-15
OFFICE IN TRIBUNE BUILDING.
TUESDAY, MARCH Is. 1898.
MCKINLEY THE "GREAT."

The civilized world is appalled, at
the terrible atrocity committed upon
the poor half-starved people OF Cuba.
Nothing in the worlds history has it's
equal.-Willmar Argus.
Nothing shows more beautifully, the
wisdom of the Republican institutions,
than when this nation is confronted by
a condition like the terrible Maine
catastrophe. At the helm stands the
president guiding the ship of state,
calm, cool, collected, brave, fearless
and at the same time winding the web
of evidence and preparing to meet
every ergency.-Willmar Argus.
Extract from Republican Platform.l
''From the hour of achieving their
own independence the people of the
United States have regarded with SYM
pathy the struggles OF other American
peoples to free themselves from Euro
pean domination. We watch with
deep and abiding interest the heroic
battle of the Cuban patriots against
cruelty and oppression, and our best
hopes go out to the full success of
their determined contest for liberty.
The Government of Spain having
lost control of Cuba, and being un-
able to protect the property or lives
Of resident American citizens, or to
comply with its treaty obligations, we
believe that the Government of the
United States should actively use it's
influence and good offices to restore
peace and give independence to the
iSland.'
Two weeks ago it was a year since
President Mckinley was inaugurated
and it will soon be two years ago since
the above resolution was adopted by
the republican party at St. Louis: and
still not a thing has been done in the
line of assisting the Cubans to obtain
their liberty by the administration.
Two years ago the republicans knew
that Spain had ''lost control' of the
island. This year they have hesitated
to grant belligerency rights to the pa
triots because of Spain's promises Of
the ''granting of autonomy Fur
thermore they have spent two millions
of dollars in assisting Spain in keep
ing brave men away from Cuba who
desired to go there and help fight her
battles. And the worst part of the
whole course of the administration is
that it was shaped so in order to as
sist the holders Of Spanish bonds.
They are the ones who have held Nc
Kinley back when the people cried:
eco on, We'll stand by YOU" Nc
Kinley indeed must be a brave man.
Think Of the nerve and GOODNESS" it
must take to watch innocent Cubans
starve, prtriotic blood flow until one
third of the male inhabitants of the
island have been butchered, hear his
own people demand that something be
done and even then remain unmoved
for fear of spelling a few coupon
bonds. 1t required the murder of 26O
American sailors to wake up this
''cool' man. And now when the
American people as one man has de-
manded that no blood money should
be accepted from Spain but that the
island be given it's liberty as an in
demnity for the slaughter of American
sailors: what else can he do? He is
forced to act. He has disregarded his
promises to the American people that
he made nearly two years ago, but
this new complication may force him
to carry them out. Had he fulfilled
his promise in regard to Cuba a year
ago, the crew of the battle-ship
"Maine" would in all probability been
alive to-day and 260 American homes
would have been spared the agoniz-
ing grief of widows and orphans.