Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1898-07-15
CUBA'S TROUBLES.
HOW THEY LED UP TO THE PRES
EMIT WAR.

In Which Our Country is Involved
-Inhuman Persecution, Long
Continued, Led to Insurection-
American Sympathy and De-
structiOn Of the Maine Involved
Our Government.
Every American is familiar with the
fact that it was Spain that discovered
the New World, and that for nearly
three centuries she held the greater
portion of the two continents as
her possessions. Except a small por-
tion of North America owned by the
French, and strip of Atlantic coast
owned by our foreiathers, the entire
hemisphere was Spanish dominion.
Always cruel and tyrannous, the
Spaniard has been hated ruler in
every colony. During the past one
hundred and fifty years, rebellion after
rebellion has swept colony after colony
in both North and South America
from Spanish sway into independence.
The close OF nineteenth century finds
the proudest Spain, and richest civiliza-
ton in the world, a poor, decrepit,
backward state, stripped of prestige
and colonies and tottering on the verge
of bankruptcy. OF the once gigantic
possessions at this writing are only left
her Cuba and the Philippine Islands
in the far East, both of which bid fair
to be lost to her forever before the year
1898 shall have become of the past.
Cuba, the largest OF the West Indian
Islands, has rightly been called the
pearl of the Antilles" 1t is beauti-
full island, where every prospect pleases,
and where a soil rich beyond expression
yields bountiful harvests almost with
out care. Everything grows in
tropical luxuriance, producing at the
slightest expense rich harvests of the
many agricultural products of the
island. Chief among its productions
have been unlimited quantities of cane
sugar and tobacco, both of which have
n worldwide reputation. Commerce
has been very much extended and
ships from all parts of the world visit
the harbors of Havana, Matanzas,
Cienfuegos, ETC., for cargoes of the
islands products, and bringing to
them loads of machinery, manu-
factures and food. A very large part
of this trade has been with the United
States, and it is officially stated that
the loss to our commerce by the
present insurrection has been not less
than $lOO,OOO,OOO Il year for nearly
three years.
The island lies almost directly south
of Florida at the entrance of the Gulf
of Mexico, and is about nine hundred
miles long and somewhere about one
hundred miles wide. Its inhabitants
are largely native born Cubans, whose
ancestry is entirely Spanish; the Span
ish people whose homes were formerly
in Spain; half breeds and negroes.
Many of the Cubans are highly
educated, but, as in most Spanish
countries, the poorer classes have had
but few educational advantages. The
capital is Havana, where the Captain
General, who is the Spanish governor
OF the whole colony, resides. 1t is a
closely built city, most of the houses
being built OF stone with flat roofs.
All of the lower windows are barred
with iron as are our jails, and behind
these may be seen the flashing of black
eyes shooting glances of love or hate,
as the case may be. At the present
time the city has garrison of over
$1,000 Spanish soldiers.
For many years Cuba has been in
either open rebellion or active unrest.
Rich as this country is it has been a
nest for rapacious and dishonest Off
cials, who have been so corrupt that
no person who has ever visited Cuba
has come away with anything but the
most severe denunciations of the Off
cial depravity everywhere met with.
Defalcation, bribery and theft have
flourished like the green bay-tree,
while exaction after exaction ground
taxes from an unwilling people. The
nearness and freedom of the United
States has been a great factor in rails
ing the spirit of freedom and liberty
among the people. There were a
number of uprisings of the people for
many years, but it was not until about
the seventies that the rebellion be-
came so formidable as to assume the
proportions of actual war. This Gas
the famous "ten years war;" and
might be called a draw game, as
Spain, finding herself unable to quell
the rebellion, promised almost every
concession asked for by the insur-
gents excepting actual independence.
This country had several "episodes"
with Spain during this war, one of
which, the Virginius" affair, nearly
led to hostilities. After peace had
been declared and the rebels had
given up their arms, Spain periid-
iously refused to carry out her prom
ises and again commenced her career
of official exaction and oppression.
The leaders were imprisoned, banished
or dispersed.