Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1898-04-21
A MESSAGE ON CUBA.
President Mckinley Informs Con-
gress on Cuban Matters.
WRECK OF The BATTLESHIP MAINE.
The Catastrophe Referred to AS Proof of
sPain'S IncapacIty TO Govern Cuba and
Powers Asked for the PreSi-
dent to Stop the War.


dent yesterday sent the following mes.
sage 70 the congress Of the United
States:
Obedlcnt TO that precept OF the constitution
which commands the president to give from
Girnc 10 time the congress information OF the
gtate OF the union ana to recommend TO their
consideration such measures as he shall judge
necessary and expedient II becomes my duty
nov Co address your body with regard to the
grave or sis that has arisen In the relations Of
che United States 10 Spain by reason Of the
wnrfare that for more than three years has
ragged IN tho nelghborlng island OF Cuba do
so because OF tho intimate connection OF the
Cuban question with the state OF our own union
and the grave relation the course which Is now
Incumbent upon the nation TO adopt must needs
Fbenr 10 tho traditional policy OF our govern
ment X tits TO accord with the precepts laid down
by the founders OF the republic and religiously
observed by succeeding administrations TO the
present day. The present revolution Is
Ibut the successor OF other similar
dnsurroctions which have occurred In Cuba
against the dominion Of Spain extending over u
period Of nearly half century, each OF which,
during It's progress, has subjected the United
States 10 great effort and expense In enforcing
dts neutrality laws. caused enormous losses TO
che American trade and commerce, caused irrl-
GatiOn. annoyance and disturbance among our
pItizens, and by the exercise OF cruel, barbar-
Gus and unclvllized practices OF warfare
shocked the senglbiliHes and offended the hui
anano sympnthios OF our people Since the
present revolution began In February, 1905
CHS country has seen the fertile domain at our
Threshold ravagcd by fire and sword in the
course of struggle unequaed In the history OF
che island and rarely pnraleled as to the num-
brr OF the combatants and the bitterness Of
the contests by nny revolution OF modern times
where n dependent people, striving TO be free,
have been opposed by the power OF the sovereign
ltate Our people have beheld q once prosperous
pmmunity reduced TO comparative want, Its
commerce virtually paralyzed, It's exceptional
producCiveness diminished, It's fields laid waste,
its mills In ruins and its people perlshing by
Gems OF thousands from hunger and restitution,
We have found ourselves constrained, In the
observance OF that strict neutrality which our
Saws epjoin and which the law OF nations COM
mands. 70 police our own waters and watch our
Vwn seaports in prevention Of any unlawful act
n aid OF che Cubans. Our trade has suffered;
Aho capital invested by our citizens In Cuba has
been largely lost md the temper and forbear-
RnCe OF our people have been so sorely tried as
60 bDget a perllOus unrest among our own citi-
RenS which has inevitably found Its expression
from time to time In the national legislature
80 TINT Issues wholly external to our own body
polite engrOss attention and stand In the way
OF that close devotion to domestic advancement
chat becomes q solf-contented commonwealth
whose primal maxim has been the avoidance Of
,ail foreign acknowledgements, All this must
needs awaken and has indeed aroused the ut
most concern on the part Of this government as
well daring my predecessors as my own
Efforts to, Bring About Peace.
mn. "a. o..
cry suffered through the Cuban war became so
'onerous that my predecessor made an effort to
bring about peace through the mediation 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-g0vern-
ment for Cuba under the flag and sovereignty
OF Spain. 1t failed, through the refusal Of the
Spanish government then In power TO COnsld-
or any form OF mediation or indeed any plan OF
settlement which did not begin with 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 con-
&inued unabated The resistance Of the IN
1rgents was In no wise diminished
Policy of Devastation.
The efforts OF Spain were increased both by
che dispatch Of fresh levles 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 peo-
ples. The policy Of devastation and ooEoentra-
zion, Inaugurated by the captain-generals
'bando of october 81, 1895, in the province Of
lPnar del Rio was then extended to embrace all
Nof the island TO which the power OF the Spanish
arms was able TO reach by occupation or mill
AAry 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 In
Eerdicted- Fhe fields were laid waste, dwell
angs unroofed and Iired mills destroyed, and in
tshort. everything that could desolate the land
and render IL unfit for human habitation or
support was commanded by one or the other Of
che eOntendlng parties and executed by all the
powers at their disposal
by the time the present administration took
office. year ago, RECOMMENDATION, so called,
mad been made effective over the better part
of the four central and western provinces
Santa Clara. Matanzas, Havana and Plnar del
Rio The agricultural population, to the es-
GimOted number OF 100000 or more, was de-
priVed Of the means of support, rendered desti-
Gute OF shelter, left poorly clad and exposed to
the most unsanitary conditions AS the scar
city OF food increased with the devastation OF
hi0n and want became misery and starvation
Month by month the death rate increased in
an alarming ratio. BY March, 1897, according
TO conservative estimates from official Span
ash sources, the mortality among the reconcen-
fradOs from starvation and the diseases there
TO incident, exceeded 30 per cent OF their total
number No practical relief was accorded to
the destitute, The overburdened towns, al
ready suffering from the general dearth could
give no aid. So-called zones OF cultivation,
established within the immediate area Of eff
fectiVe military control abNlt the cities
and fortified camps proved illIsory as rem
edV for the suffering The unfortu-
mates, being for the most part women and chill
'dren with aged and helpless men, enfeebled by
disease and hunger, could not have titled the
soil without tools, seed or shelter for their
own support or for the supply OF the cities.
RECOMMENDATION adopted avowedly as n war
Qneasure in order to cut OF the resources OF the
insurgents, worked its predestined results. As
sold in my message OF last December 1t was
mot civilized warfare; 1t was determination.
The only peace 1t could beget was that OF the
wilderness and the grave.
Relapsed into DOgged Struggle.
Meanwhile the military situation in the Is
land had undergone u noticeable change. The
extraordinary activity that characterized the
second year OF the war, when the insurgents in
NNded even the hitherto unframed fields Of
Pima del Rio and carried havoc and restitution
sup to the walls Of the city OF Havana itself,
mad relapsed into logged struggle in the CEN
'tral and eastern provinces, The Spanish arms
regained measure OF control in Pinar
del Rio and parts OF Havana, bit under
the existing conditions OF the rural country,
without immediate Improvement OF their pro-
off