The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1898-04-16

and to Act, the War in Cuba Must
Stop"
WASHINGTON, April 1.-THE presi-
dent Sent the following message to the
congress of the United States.
The Message.
Obedient to that precept OF the constitution,
which Commands the president to give from
time to time the congress OF the
state OF the Union, and 10 recommend TO their
consideration such measures ~ h. shall Judge
necessary and eXpedIent, ii becomes my duty
now to address your body with regard to the
grave crisis that has arisen in the relations OF
the United States to Spain BY rea-
son Of the warfare that for more
than three years has ragged in the nelghboring
lsI4uu OF cuba l do so because OF the md
mate connection OF The Cuban question with the
state ofuur,Own Union, and thc grave IT. atIOnS,
the course which Is now incumbent upon the
nation to adopt must neeCs bear to the traiI-
Nonal poucy of our government, II II Is to aG-
cord with the preCepts lad down by the found
AEs OF the repuUlic and re.lguously ob>erEeI py
Succeeding administrations to the present dag.
But the Successor of similar Revolutions.
The present revolution is but the successor
Of other similar instructions which have &C.
CURED in CuUa against the dominion of SPAN,
extending over a period Of nearly half 4 CEN
fury, each OF which, during Its progress, has
subjected the United States to great effort and
expense in enforcing its neutrality laws; caused
enormous losses to American trade and COM
merce; caused irritation. annoyance anu dis
turbance among our citizens, and by the exer-
else OF cruel, barOarouS and unclvllIZrd prac-
tices Of warfare, shocked the senSlbilitieS and
offended the humane sympathieS OF our people.
A Fertile Domain Ravaged.
Since the present revolution began, in Feb
Tuary. 1875, this country has seen the fertile
domain At our threshold ravaged by lire and
sword in the course OF a struggle unequalej in
the history of the island, anu rarely parallelrd
g. TO the number Of the comuatanLs and the
hftfarnaEG nf the contest nv lnV rRTnlnrlnD nj
modern times where a dependent people, Str.v-
ing 10 be free, have been opposed by the power
of the sovereign state. Our people have beheld
@ once prosperous community reduced TO COM
paratiVe want, its virtually para
lyzed, its exceptional productiveness DUNN
ished. its fields laid waste, its mills in ruins,
and its people perlshing by tens OF thousands
from hunger and deStItution-
Onerous Duties EntaiIed by Neutrality.
We have found ourselves constrained, in the
observance OF that strict neutrality which our
laws enjoin and which the law of nations
commands, to police our own waters and watch
our own seaports in prevention OF any unlawful
act in aid Of the CubanS. Our trade has suffered;
the capital invested by our citizens in Cuba
has been largely lost, and the temper and
forbearanoe Of our people have been SO
sQrely tried as to beget a perilouS unrest
among Our own citizens, which has in
evitably found its expression from time to
time in the national legislature SO that issues
wholly external to our own body polite engross
attention ana stand in the way of that close de-
votIon 10 domestic advancement that becomes
q seIf-cOntented commonwealth whose primal
maxim has been the avoidance OF all foreign
-entanglements. All this IA uSt needs awaken
and mas indeed aroused the utmost concern on
the part Of this government as well during my
predecessors as my own administration.
Efforts of the Previous Administration.
In April, 1895, the evils from which our coua-
try suhereu through the Cuban war became so
onerous that my predecessor made an effort to
bring about q peace through the intervention
of this government in any way that might tend
TO an honorable adjustment OF the contest be-
tween Spain and her revolted colony on the
basis Of some effective scheme Of Self-gov-
eminent for Cuba under the flag and
sovereignty Of Spain. 1t failed, through
the refusal OF the Spanish government then in
power to consider any form OF mediation or,
Indeed. any plan OF settlement which did not be-
gin with the actual submission Of the insur-
gents 70 the mother country, and then only on
grant Inc war continued unabated. The re-
distance OF the insurgents in nowiSe diEin-
tshsd
SPAIN Futile and Inhuman Efforts.
The efforts Of spain were increased, both By
the dispatch OF fresh leVIeS to Cuba and by thu,
addition to the horrors of the strife of u new
ana inhuman phase. happily Unprecedented in
the modern history Of civilized Christian peo-
pies The policy Of devastation and concentra-
aion, ipaugurated by Capt-Gen. BandO, on Dc
EOber 81, 1886, in the province OF PInar del Rio.
was thence extended to embrace ali of the
Island 70 which the power of Span
ASA IL "oo obAC ~ ICdCu u
occupation or by military operations. The
peassntry. incluuIng all dwelling in the open
agricultural interior, were driven into the gar
riSon towns or Isolated places held by the
troops. The raising and movement Of provl-
iSions Of ali kinds were interdIcted. the fields
were laid waste, dwellings unrOOfed and fired.
mills destroyed and, in short. everything that
. could desulate the land and render it unit for
human hsbitatlOn or support was commanded
by one or the other of the cOntending parties.
and executed by all the powers at their dis
poSaL
The So-Caned Recommendation.
BY the time the present administration took
office, a year ago, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
hau been made effective over the better part OF
the four central anu western provinces, Santa
Clara, MatanzaS, Havana and Pinar del KiU.
The agricultural population, to the estimated
number OF 3UU, W or more, was herued within
the towns and their immediate vicinage. de-
prlVed Of the means Of support. rendered
destitute Of shelter, left poorly cI;Id and exposed
70 the most unsanItIry conditions.
Destruction. Misery and Starvation.
AS the scarcity of food Increased with the de-
vaStatlon OF the depopu.atGd areas OF pruduC-
tiUn, destitutlon ana want became misery and
starvation. Month by month the death rate in
creased in alarming ratio BY March, 1872. ac-
cOruIng to conservative estimates, from Official
Spanish sources, the mortality among the re-
cOncentraGoes from starvation and the diseases
1hereto incident, eXceeUed 50 per ceutum OF their
toIaI number. No Practical renef was ac-
cOrued TO the destitute. The overDurdened
towns. already suffering from the General
, dearth, could give no aid. So-called zones of
cultivation established within the immediate
urea Of effective military control about the CIT
lies and fortified camps proved illusIonary as a
remedy for the suffering. The unfortunateS,
being for the most part women aud children,
with aged anu helpless men. enfpebled by dis
ease ami hunger, could not have tILed the soil.
without tools, seeu or shelter, for their own
support or for the supply OF the cit
les. Recommendation, aLOp-ed avoweuly as
q war measure, IN order 10 cut on the
resources of the insurgents, worked its predeS-
tined result As l said in my message of last
December. IL was not a civilized warfare; II
was determination. The only peace il could
beget was that VI the wilderness and the grave.
A DogEed Struggle.
Meanwhile the military situation in the
island had undergone a noticeable change. The
extraordinary activity that characterized the
accom- year of the war, when the insurgents IN
yaded even the hitherto unharDed neidS OF
Pinar del Rio, and carried havoc and destitu-
ton up To the walls of the city OF
.dosged struggle in the central and
eastern provinces. The Spanish arms re-
gained q measure of control in Pinar del RIo
and parts of Havana, but, under the existing
conditions OF the rural country, without i'm
mediate Improvement Of their productive sItua-
rion. Even thus partially restricted. the revo-
IutioniStS held their own. and their submiS-
sion, put forward by Spain as the essential and
.Rule basis Of peace, seemed as far distant as al
the outset
Confronted with q Grave Problem.
In this state Of affairs, my adminiStratio
found itself confronted with the grave problem
of its duty. Ny message OF last December re-
viewed the situation and detailed the steps