Warren sheaf., 1898-04-14

greater act than to the lesser. while on
tne other hand the influences and conse-
4uenGes Of the. struggle upon the in
which feefors When ntaie tSe
secog@nition rec @ OF belligerency. is considered.
ere faetors Seeondary hay Il not rightly eiminabie
er the community claiming recognition is
or IS not independent beyond peradventure.
tSgr,1 MGr 1fqm sne standpoint of expedi do
government to recognize at the preEent
time the Independence of the so-called
Cuban republic. Such recognition is not
| States to intervene and pacify the island
Io commit this country now to the recog-
Gba i9h OF ir4 any particular in
conditions of International obligation to-
| wards the organization so recognized. In
case OF intervention our conduct would be
subject to the approval or disapproval of
such government; we would be required to
submit to- its direction and to assume to
Whhe the + mere ere, relations of friendy aly
is within the island a government capab BILE
| Of performing the duties and discharging
Ing as matter of fact the proper forms
and attributes of nationality, such govern
ment @ can be promptly and readily recog-
| nized, and the rela tions and interests of the
United States with such nation adjusted.
| Our Alternatives.
| There remain the alternative forms Of in
tervention to end the war, either as an
impartial neutral by imposing ationai
| as, the active ally of the one party or the
other.
A, As to the first. It is not not to be h forgotten @ ten
| lation Of the United States has virtually
been one of friendly intervention in many
all tending to the exertion Of potential
| influence toward an ultimate pacific re-
suit just, and honorable to all interests
erto has been an earnest unselfsh desire
| for peace and prosperity in Cuba, untar-
nished by differences between us and Spain
and unstained by the blood of American
Intervention Justifable.
| The forcible Intervention of the United
| States, as a neutral, to stop the war, ac-
| cording to the large dictates of humanity,
| and following many historical precedents
| where neighboring states have interfered
to check the hopeless sacrifice of life by
is .justifiable or rational grounds. 1t in
| wolves, however, hostile cOnstraint upon
| both the parties to the contest as well
to enforce truce as to guide the eventual
settlement.
Grounds for Intervention.
The grounds for such intervention may
! be briefly summarized as follows:
First-In the cause of huma nifty and to
shed, starvation and horrible, miseries
parties to the conflict are either un-
1t is no answer to say this is all in another
country, belonging to another nation, and
is therefore none of our business. 1t is
| door.
second-We owe it to our citizens in
| Cuba to afford them that protection and
indemnity fol-: life and property which no
government there can or will afford, and
| to that end to terminate the conditions
that deprive them of legal protection.
Third-The right to Intervene may be
! justified by the very serious injury to the
| commerce. trade and business of oul
people and by the wanton destruction OF
property and devastation Of the island
| Fourth-And which lis of the utmost i'm
portance: The present condition of affairs
In Cuba is a constant menace to our peace
and entails upon this government ar
waged for years in an island so near US
and with which our people have such trade
az! and business relations-when the lives a and
| ger and their property destroyed and them
selves ruined-where our trading vessels
very door, by ,warships Of a foreign ma
tion, the expeditions Of filibustering tha
we are powerless to prevent altogether anc
the irritating questions and ENHANCEMENT t
thus arising-all these and others that
| need not mention, with the resulting
strained relations, are constant menace
semi-war footing with a ma tton with which
we are at peace. -
Destruction of the Maine.
These elem ments Of danger and disorder
already pointed out have been stMkingl1
illustna ted by tragic event which has
deeply and justly moved the American peo
pie. I have already. transmitted to con
gress the report of the naval court OF in
Maine in the harbor of Havana during tht
night of the 18th of February. The de
structiom of that noble vessel has filled
the national heart with inexpressible hor
rOr Two hundred and fifty-eight brave
sailors and marines and two officers of ou1
navy, reposing in the fancied security of {
friendly ha rbor, have been hurled to deatf
| grief and want brought to their homes
and sorrow to the nation.
The naval court of inquiry, which, it i
needless to say, commands the unqualified
confidence of the government, was unan
imous in it's conclusion that the destruc
ton of the Maine was caused s by by an n, 6, eX :
terror explosion, that of a submarine mine
1t did not assume to place the RESPONSE
bility. That remains to be fixed.
Proof Of Spain's Weakness.
In any event the destruction of the Maine
impressive i'm proof Of a state Of things il
Cuba that is intolerable: That condition
is thus shown to be such that the Span
security to vessel of the American nav.
in the harbor of Havana on a mission O
peace and rightfully there .
Further referring in this connection t(
recent diplomatic correspondence. dis
patch from our minister to Spain, of the
26th ult., contained the statement thai
the Spanish minister for foreign affairs
assured him positively that Spain will de
all that the highest honor and justice re-
quire in the nsltter Of the Maine. The re-
ply above referred to of the 31st ult: alse
contained an expression of the readiness
of Spain to submit to an arbitration all the
differences which can arise i'm this matter
which is subsequently explained by the
note Of the Spanish minister at Washing
ton of the 10th inst, as follows:
A Note from Spain.
GAS to the question Of fact which springs
from the diversity Of views between tht
report Of the Americans and Spanish
boards, Spain proposes that the fact be
ascertained by ans impartial Investigation