The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-04-12

saon to Feed Reconcentrados Recon-
mended.
Washington, April 1.-THE President
TODAY sent the following message to Con-
gress:
The Congress of the United States:
Obedient to that precept OF the Constl-
tuition which commands the PRESIDENT 10
rive from time to time the Congress in
formation of the state of the Union, and
TO recommend to their consideration such
measures as he shall judge necessary and
expedient, itnbecomes my duty now TO ad-
dress your body with regard to the grave
crisis that has arisen in the relations OF
the United States to Spain By reason of
the warfare that for more imam three
wears has ragged in the neighboring island
of Cuba. l do SO because of the intimate
connection OF the Cuban question with
tha state of our union and the grave rela-
tion the course which it is now incuin-
bent upon the nation to adopt must needs
bear to the traditional policy OF our gov
eminent II it is to ne in accord Win the
precepts laid down by the founders OF the
republic and religiounly observed by sue
ceeding administrations TO the present
day.
cessor of other similar instructions
which have occurred N Cuba against the
dominion of Spain extending over a
period of nearly half century, each OF
which, during its progress has subjected
the United States to great effort and ex-
pense in enforcing its neutrality laWs,
aaused enormous losses to American trade
aud commerce caused irritation, annoy
ance and disturbance among our citizens,
and by the exercise OF cruel. barbarous
and uncivilized practices of warfare,
shocked the sensibilities and offended the
humane sympathies of our people.
Since the present revolution began in
February, 1895, this country has seen the
fertile domain at our threshold ravaged
by fire and sword in the course OF a
struggle unequalled in the history OF tho
island and rarely paralleled az to the
number of combatants and the bitterness
of the contest by any revolution of modern
times where a dependent people striving
to be free have been opposed by the power
of the sovereign state. Our people have
beheId a once prosperous community re-
duced to comparative want. its lucrative
commerce virtually paralzyed, Its ex-
ceptional productiVeness diminished, its
fields laid waste, its mills in ruins, and
its people perishing by tens of thousands
from hunger and destitution. We have
found ourselves constrained, in the obser-
vance of that strict neutrality which the
laws of nations command, to police our
own waters and watch out 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 forbearance of our people have
been so severely tried as to begeS a
periIous unrest among our own citizens,
which has inevitably found expression
from time to time in the national legisla-
ture SO tfat issues wholly external to our
own politics engross attention and stand
in the way of that close devotion to do
mestic advancement that becomes self
contained common wealth whose primal
maxim has been avoidance of all foreign
acknowledgements. ALI this must needs
awaken and has indeed aroused the ut
most concern on the part of this govern
ment as well during my predecessor S
term as my own.
In April, 1896, the evils from which our
country suffered through the Cuban war
became SO enormous that my predecessor
made an effort to bring about a peace
through the mediation of this govern
ment in any way that might tend to an
honorable adjustment of the contest be-
tween Spain and her revolving colony,
on the basis of some effective scheme of
self.government for Cuba under the flag
and sovereignty of Spain. 1t failed,
through the refusal of the Spanish gov
eminent then in power to consider any
form of mediation or indeed any plan of
settlement which did not begin with the
actual submission of the insurgents to the
mother country, and then only on such
terms as Spain herself might see fit to
grant. The war continued undated. The
resistance of the insurgents was in no
wise diminished.
Thea efforts of Spain were increased,
both by the despatch of fresh levies to
Cuba and by the addition to the horrors
of the strife of new and inhuman phase
happily unprecedented in the modern
history of civilized Christian peoples. The
policy of devastation and concentration,
inaugurated by the Captain-G General Ban
do of October 81. 1896. in the province of
Pinar del Rio was thence extended to en-
brace all of the island to which the power
of the Spanish arms was able to reach by
occupation or by military operations The
peasantry, including all dwelling in the
open agricultural interior, were driven
into the garrison towns or isolated places
held by the troops. The raising and
movement Of provisions of all kinds were