The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1898-04-14
By FORCE OF ARMS
President Asks Authority CT
Congress to Terminate Hos.
tilitieS in Cuba.
Does Not Believe 1t Wise or
Prudent to Recognize Inde-
pendence Now.
GRANTING AN ARMISTICE
Spain'S Latest Move Submitted
for" Just and Deliberate
Considerations"
Maine Disaster an Illustration
of the Inability to Pre-
serve Order.

WASHINGTON, April 12.-The presi.
dent sent the following message to the
congress of the United States:
Obedient to the precepts of the constitu
ton which commands the president to
give from time to time to congress the in
formation of the state of the Union, and
to recommend to their consideration such
measures as he shall judge necessary and
expedient, it becomes 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 than three years
has ragged in the neighboring island OF
Cuba. do so because of the intimate re-
lation of the Cuban question with the
state of our own union, and the grave re-
lation the course which it Is now incum-
bent upon the nation to adopt, must
needs bear to the traditional policy of our
government if it is to accord with the pre-
cepts laid down by the founders of the re-
public and religiously observed by sue
ceeding administrations to the present
day.
Successor of Other Revolutions.
" The present revolution is the successor
of other similar instructions which have
occurred in Cuba against the dominion OF
Spain, extending over period of nearly
half century, each of which during its
progress has subjected the United States
to great effort and expense in enforcing
it's neutrality laws, caused enormous
losses to the American trade and COM
merce, caused Irritation, annoyance and
disturbance among our citizens, and by
the exercise of cruel, barbarous and I'M
civilized practices of warfare shocked the
sensibilities and offended the humane
symrathies of our people.
Since the present war began in Feb
ruary, 1855, this country has seen the fer
tile domain at our Threshold
Ravaged by Fire and Sword,
in thecourse of struggle unequalled in
the history of the island and rarely par
alleled as to the number of the combat
ants 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 sover-
eign state. Our people have beheld once
prosperous community reduced to COM
parative want; its commerce virtually
paralyzed; it's exceptional prCductiveness
diminished; its fields laid waste; its mills
in ruins. and it's people perishing by tens
of thousands from hunger and destitu-
ton. We have found ourselves con-
strained in the observance of that strict
neutrality which our laws enjoin, AID
which the law of nations command, to
police our own waters and watch our own
seaports, in prevention of any unlawful
act in aid of the Cubans. Our, trade has
suffered; the capital Invested by our citi-
zens in Cuba has been largely lost and the
temper and forbearance Of our people
have been 80 sorely tried as to beget
ieriious Unrest Among Our Citizens,
which has inevitably found its expression
from time to time in our national legis-
lature, so that issues wholly external to
our own body polite engross attention
and stand in the way of that close devo-
ton to domestic advancement that be-
comes a self-contented commonwealth.
whose primal maxim has been the avoid
ance of all foreign entanglements. All
this must needs awaken and has indeed
aroused the utmost concern on the part
of this government, as we'll during my
PREDECESSORS administration as my own.