The San Francisco call., 1898-04-13

| Cuban question in its several phases under discussion. Three resolutions bearing upon the question were intro- duced, the first by Lindsay of Ken lucky, directing that the contemplated operations against the Spanish army in Cuba be In conjunction with General Gomez, the supreme command to be vested In the United States forces, to the end that the independence of the Cubans be restored; the second by Will son of Washington, directing the Presi- l dent to at once take such steps as will restore to the Cuban people an inde pendent republican form of govern ment, and the third by Allen of Ne braska, declaring the existence of war | in Cuba and directing the President to take steps to stop it and secure to the people of the island stable and inde- pendent government.
 Following the introduction of the res- olutions speeches were delivered by Pettus of Alabama, Mason of Illinois and Butler of North Carolina Judge Pet tus presented an argument that the | Congress could not delegate to the Pres 1 ident the power to make war, either in a general or in a special sense, and de- clared that the making of any war without an express declaration by Con- gress would be a disgrace to the na- | ton. Mason said, in substances:
 AS before announced to you in language l which could not be misunderstood, I am for war, and have been since the hour our flag was lowered in Havana harbor and | the lives of our citizens taken by the Government of Spain. But I am and have been for this declaration of war only as a means of securing an honorable peace. l have no desire to destroy the Spanish | nation, but her flag must be dishonored | by surrendering her sovereignty over | Cuban territory as an atonement for the l lowering of our flag, the sinking of our | ship and the murder of our men, While l am for war, l realize that I have but one poor vote in the war-making power of l this Government, and I stand ready In this hour to uphold the hands of the ex- ] ecutfve and take the best I can get | have been indulging in a hope, that seemed almost d certainty, that the ex- ecutive. would recommend intervention and independence to the Cuban republic Intervention by force of arms as recom- mended by the President Is war To de- | clare for intervention without declaring directly, openly for war seems to lack l frankneSs and Savors too much of Span- iSh diplomacy. If we can have armed in- terVention without recognizing the in- l dependence of Cuba and can have nothing | else, l must accept the will of the ma
 
 l respectfully protest, and also reserving the right to fight for the independence of i the brave men, women and children in 1 the island of Cuba.
 Mason then went into the history of what had been done by this country in the past regarding recognition, and l continued:
 MT. President, 1t seems almost like in- sulting the intelligence of my colleagues to call attention to the civil government | existing in Cuba and controlled by the in surgents when 1t Is known that through hundreds of thousands of dollars and l maintained a standing army that has Kept at bay nearly 100000 armed and equipped Spanish soldiers and has given l evidence of as great bravery and endur- ance as any army in all the recorded past. l The brilliant orator from Iowa said the | other day, in the other House, that '.hov- ering above the dark waters of that mvs- terfous harbor of Havana the black winged vultures watch for the dead. while over 1t and over all there is the eagle s l piercing eye, sternly watching for the 1 truth
 MT. President, is 1t to continue to be an eagle, or will the avarice and greed of 1 the nation cause 1t to descend and par | take of the vuture'S food?
 Perez, writing to Aranguren, said '"The Yankees are hogs, and If you conquered 1 your own independence they will absorh you" MT. President, did he tell the | truth?
 MT. President, are we going out on an l errand of mercy loaded down with day | books and journals? Are we to forget 1 our citizens who went down in the har- 1 DOT or Havana, in our greed for gold and | territory? Are we to leave the door open | to compel additional terms from the in | surgents who sacrificed their wives their children and their homes? Do we wish l special treaties of commerce and leave the door open for that? Do we wish to relieve some American investors who | have bought Spanish bonds and who wish | to trade them Tor the bonds of the ra the door open to compel those brave men and women to accept some terms of au- tonomy or to pay blood money to the l Spaniards or the Shylocks of our own | land?
 May be forgiven if express the hone | that the heart of the executive may be touched in their behalf? May we not 1 hope that their last lingering look of life | be not with suspicion and hatred upon our flag; that 1t may not rest upon that color of the yellow flag of Spain, but that l in their rapt and parting moments they may be soothed and sustained by the sight of their own flag, the flag with a single star-the flag of the republic of 1 Cuba?
 MT. Butler of North Carolina fol- lowed Mr. Mason. He said that he be- longed to what was popularly termed the opposition on the floor of the Sen l ate, but he maintained that this oppo- sition had thus far upheld the hands of the administration as Loyalty as had the best friends of the President, and were ready to do so as long as they can preserve their self-respect. MT. Butler expressed the hope that the Foreign Relations Committee would be able to bring in a resolution that the Senate might adopt unanimously, as 1t voted for the O,0O0, 900 emergency ap- propriation. In the present circum- stances we would be justified in driy- ing every Spanish vessel from the seas and in laying waste ever~ city and town of Spain. This because of the destruction of the Maine-one of the foulest crimes in history. He main tained that the United States had even more exalted reasons for the establish ment of Cuban independence-the req sons of humanity and liberty, and said:
 am for averaging the Maine, and would | be if Cuba did not enter into the matter. I would secure atonement from Spain for 1 the destruction of the Maine and so many l of her gallant crew, not by conquest, not by indemnity, for we cannot make mer- l chandise out of the bones of our dead:
 but let us say to Spain that we will es- tabIjcb a Cuhau reDIlblic a 6 a mou,ymept