The evening times., 1898-08-17
The Cuban situs tio..

Now is the time for the exercise OF
| extreme care in our dealings with sucA
| of the Cubans as have been In arms
| against Spain, and the opinions OF
General Wheeler, published this morn
| ing, seem to be worth the attention OF
the President and the public. OF
| course, all Cubans must be made to
| understand, first of ALL that we intend
| to have order in Cuba IL we have to
! fight for 1t. Peace was the first OBJ
| ject of the war that has just closed.
| II any other element chooses to take
the place of the Spaniards as the enc
| mics of quiet and the reign of justice
| In the island, the American troops can
be as well employed in their suppress
sion as in the subjugation of Spanish
regulars.
With the proclamation to that effect
should go the assurance that it is not
the American purpose to claim Cuba
as one of the fruits of conquest: that
unless the Cubans themselves apply for
annexation the great republic will not
take a step in that direction-and per-
haps not even at the earnest prayer
of al! Cuba. The Cubans who have
fought should be told that as far as
their aim is the welfare of their ma
tive land. they need apprehend no OBJ
structions as consequence of tenn
porary American administration; but
that If they have confounded the well
fare of the island with the oppression
of any other class of citizens or with
their own exclusive administration of
public affairs, regardless of the will OF
the majority, they must reform their
views and adjust their ideas to the
principles Of a republican form OF
government. While as patriots who
have risked their lives and have suf-
fered much for the freedom of the
people of Cuba they are entitled to all
the honors a grateful country can be-
stow without defeating the supreme
purpose of the revolution, they have no
special claim to own or govern the
island more than an equal number of
other citizens. To place all power in
their hands without the favorable de-
cision of a majority of those entitled
actly what these Cubans denounce. 1t
would be to say that any body of arm
ed men strong enough to subjugate the
people may thereafter own and control
the conquered territory. Under the
policy which some of the mistaken and |
short sighted friends of the Cubans in |
arms advocate, the United States Gov |
ernment could keep Cuba for her own. |
The provisional government devised |
by Jose Marti may have been neces-
sary at the time ii was chosen, but 1t |
Is obvious that II Is not instituted by |
the people of Cuba as represented by
ma ajority vote. When it is believed the
people of the island are ready for SELF
government ii will be possible for such
a majority to select the officials. If
this is not what Marti and Gomez and |
Maceo and the Junta had in view, then
they can have no claim to any con-
sideration at our hands. We under
took to stop atrocities in Cuba. The
fortunes of war have put 1t into our
power to establish the independence
of the people, but the basis of their
government must be the rule of the
ma jority. No patriotic Cuban can ask
more fair. All this should
be patiently explained to the men who
are naturally and excusably bitter
toward their former oppressors, some
of whom are residents of Cuba.