The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-04-14

4 Mt IAt piuIkNE ~ tOlIlll lilto wan
II one ear & last January we had
recognized their Independence they
would have established their indeperd-
ence themselves. Both those PROPOSE
! tions passed by the n were smoth-
cred elsewhere, a wisdom which. 1 shall
question. I have also for a years
advocated a powerful navy and strong
coast defenses. i have advocated them
because / believed that in them was
the greatest guarantee of peace. III we
had to-day. as we ought to have. 70
battleships and a hundred torpedo boats
there never would have been a Cuban
question. We are not I'm this crisis by
ar accident. We have not been brought
here by chance and by clamorous poll
ticians or by yellow journals. We are
face to face with Spain to-day in the
fulfllment of a great movement which
has run through the centuries. Out of
the war which Spain wages and the
manner in which she wages has com
starvation n h destruction Of the
Maine.
spain on Her Deathbed.
Spain is on her ~deathbed. buried in
debt. bleeding at every vein from the
revolutions in her oloni and her Off
GERS and officials rob her, dying as she
is. i'm the eyes of the world. We asked
General Lee yesterday when he was be-
fore us IL the 5000, 900 said to ave been
appropriated by Spain for the relief of
the rec~oncentrados would reach them
or woul be spent on the Spanish SOL
diers, for they are starving, too, and
his reply was: 1t will never reach
either of them: the officials will take 1t
all on the way That is what is going
on In Spain just as it was when Gil
Bias had his adventures. That is why
Cuba has rebelled. The sentiment of
the American people I'm my judgment Is
for peace. We are essentially a peace
loving. peace-cherishing people: but
there is a sentiment in the american
people that is above N beyond their
love of peace. i meal among the great
mass of cur people whose eyes are not
blinded by the glitter of too much
wealth. Among these people there is a
strong sentiment for peace always, but
II can only be peace with honor. They
cherish very deeply the pride in being
Americans. and they do not want to
see that name furnished or brought to
ignomy or dishonor.
III war must bel hope and pray
that IL may be avoided-no nation ever
went to war on higher grounds or from
nobler or from more disinterested mo-
tives. War is here, IL 1t Is here, by the
acts of Spain.
And now, in conclusion. what of the
/ am so merely human that
that ship is nearer my heart than any
thing else. Suppose she had gone down
to her death in an English harbor.
up as she was, carrying her men
with her, what would have been the
voice of England. that land of Nelson?
l believe IL IL had happened In an Eng
lish port. England would have said:
We regard this with horror; we believe
IL must nave been al accident, but
II happened In our harbor. under our
flag. IL you think otherwise, name the
that you want
such. / believe. would have been
the reply of England. Such, / believe,
would have been our reply, or any of
the great powers. Look now at Spain.
does nothing but to ander the
dead officers and the living officers of
the Maine. Her ambassador at Rome
but a week g to all Europe, In
a published interview. that the ship
went down because her captain neg
lected her and was not on board.
I'VE have evidence of Captain Sigs-
bee before our committee as to the
character of the examination which h
made. trivial, slight, careless,
for a form, to back up a story
which they had already made up their
minds To stand by n put forth. That
has been the attitude of Spain toward
an awful disaster, happening in her
own harbor."
Mr.. Frye-Will the senator from Mas
sachusetts please d right here that
the death of our sailors and the de-
of our ship, according to
General Lees testimony, was celebrat-
ed by banquets n champagne by the
officers in Cuba.
Mr.. Lodge-Mr. President. ! thank
the senator from Maine for recalling to
me the testimony of General Lee i'm
point yesterday. They rejoiced in
Havana, and they explained the ex-
by throwing it upon our Off
GERS. slandering their character and de-
nying their words. We annot take
money for the dead men of the Maine.
There Is only one reparation. There
Is only one monument to raise over that
and that is to free Cuba and
peace i'm hat island. That is a worthy
worthy of men who died
under the flag they loved, died, i'm the
cold language of the law, in line of
There are mutterings among the
men who wear your uniform because
they think you have not striven to re-
dress the awful slaughter of their
You must maintain the
honor of the uniform under which they
died. Surely, there is no more right
eous cause than this for IN nation to
ask justice.
II care but little h form of words
we adopt. l am ready to yield my
opinions to those about me in congress.
Still more ready am / To defer to the
wishes Of the executive who stands
and must stand at our head. but | want
now TO arm that executive with powers
which will enable him in the good prov
of God to bring peace to Cuba and
justice for the Maine"
Mr.. Lindsay ollowed -.r. Lodge in a
stirring speech. The resolution report
ed to-day would be in his opinion n
of war so soon as IL should
be finally enacted into law. II Spain
should be driven from the island what.
asked Mr.. Lindsay, is to become of the
Cuban people. He maintained that il
the United States should intervene in
this way The island when conquered
be under our dominion and the
people could only form a new
government by our consent. Who had
the right to say hat we shall not make
war against Spain in concert with the
insurgent forces on the island? Who
the right to say that we shall not
rAnnUnfgA tho ruhan tantthItasa o,,,I--