The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-04-05
MAINE CASE MENAClNe.


I'm 4 list 1dS&.)
scheme Instituted by Gen. weyler to starve
more than a million of Spanish subiac,s
INTO submission, and declared that nothing
III an history compared with the atroeitv
ana brutality that Gen. Wey9er had cxer-
clseu against tne Cubans. The time for
action had, in his opinion. arrived
Nh. Perkins, who has had a life time Of
experience in the handling of great yes
ssls, discussed the destruction of the
Name from the view point of an EXPERT.
he declared that our sailors and officers
had been beguilded by the deception of
the Spah'ards TO place in a friendly har-
oor ana there, without minutes warn
ing, had been blown into eternity.
for lorty days and nights the people
had suspended judgment, but now that
the Iacts nave been laid before them, the
verdict he said, is unanimous that the
great battleship was blown I'm nor onIv
from the outside, but with the cognizance
Oh spanish officials, for whose acts the
spanish government was fully response
pie' Inc explosives, whether they were
III NINE or in a torpedo We're placed
under the Maine by officials of the Span-
ISM government. The people believe thai
they were exploded by design. and he was
one who held to that belief 1t would
nave been impossible, Mr.. Perkins said
---e@AA VI SGT VI men 10 place IN the
haroor OF Havana mines or tornedoas
without the knowledge of the government
authorities. No impartial judge would
IAN, after considering all the facts nre-
sehteo, 70 place the responsibility for the
crime upon the Spanish government
through its authorized officials.
rms most hideous crime of the nine
teenth century was an act of war. and 7
tIa tnat 1t is 50 regarded by the ma
tons of the world"
NO offer of reparation could wine ont
the feeling of the people of tbis col,,,Ir,
on this matter, and intensity had been
ADDED to that feeling by the most frivo-
lous manner in which the disaster had
been treated by Spain.
Inc only honorable action for this conn
try now to take was to intervene and free
Cupa from the yoke of Spain.
Mr. Mantle of Montana followed with
an extended speech upon the absorbing
.oplc OF CUBA, in which he declared that
ne favored the independence of the Cuban
people, who, for years, had been sting
cling for their freedom. 81 would " said
me- give my unqualified endorsement and
vote IN favor of directing the President
70 use the armed forces, both land and
naval 10 suppress the savagery that is
now rampant upon that fair island"
me time for action had arrived and thn
sooner II was taken the better it would
be for all concerned.
MI Rawlins of Utah said the case be-
tween Spain and the United States woe
made up. 1t was no longer for The evao,,9
i've 10 decide what course to pursue
win Congress rested the responsibility ~
declaring war, and as this was the press
ing duty the President was no longer tba
party to be criticised if any one was to be
congress can, if ii will, he said decide
TO nave peace with incidental outrage and
ciandestine murder. AS for himself he
old not choose to accept peace under such
circumstance
Mr.. Rawlins opposed further delay. The
obstruction of the Maine and the clandes
tine murder Of 266 of our sailors had Or
Cured forty-eight days since; but this
was not all. For three years the Spanish
authorities had been imprisoning and muir
dering American citizens OF these facts
the executive doubtless had been fully ad-
Vlsed by the consular reports. but these
reports had been withheld on the nIea
mat It would endanger the safety of orr
offlclals in Cuba to give them out. If this
was true, 1t revealed a wretched state OF
affairs.
Continuing, Mr.. Rawlfns said DELAY had
been sought last week bv the friends ~
the President on the plea that a MESA pc
was soon TO be sent in from the President
which would meet all the demands of the
country. AT the same time the private
ana confidential secretary of the Presi-
dent was sending message to his friends
urging them to the utmost exertion' to
bring pressure to bear to secure peace.
Mr.. Rawlns criticised our haIting policy
in strong language, saying that it was
such as to justify Spain in holding the
United States in contempt. He added that
the crime of the exDIosion of t,a AEoina
was due to our own indecision and coward
ice, and that such an act would never
have been perpetrated upon any other ma
ton.
In conclusion, Mr.. Rawlins made an ar
gument for an absolute declaration of war.
instead of declaration for armed inter
vention.
The sundry civil appropriation bill was
then taken UP. At o'clock the Senate
went into executive session and soon after
ward adjourned