The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-04-14

y
these recommendations. as to the form and
character of intervention. The committee
differed with the President in the first place
because. in the judgment of the committee,
the time had come when no further negotia-
tions were IN order. The time for action
in the judgment of the committee, has come
and the committee felt that while they had
the matter under consideration they would
provide for action immediate and specific,
and, as they believed, in character and keep
ing with the desires Of the American people
in respect to this matter.
AS to the establishment CT stable gov
eminent by the President of the United
States in the Island of Cuba the committee
doubt as to the right Of Congress to EN-
power the President of the United States,
or for the Congress itself. to create and es-
tablish a stable government in the Island
OF Cuba for the benefit of the Cuban peo-
pic. However that may be- after the COM
mittee had declared that the people OF the
Island Of Cuba are, and of right ought to
be. free and independent the proposition
that the President of the United States or
the Congress of the United States or any
other exterior power should establish for
that independent people government
stable o. otherwise was inconsistent. Ii
people be free and independent, as we have
people of the Island of Cuba are, they and
they alone have power to establish their
government Independence and sovereignty
go hand in hand. and any people who have
independence have the capacity and the
right to exercise sovereignty, and 1t is
denial of independence to say in the next
will undertake, we do hereby reserve the
right and power to establish for that indie
our judgment and opinion may be stable
A QUESTION OF LAW.
Whether or not people who have re-
voIted and rebelled against a. sovereign
power and are striving for independence are
entitled to be recognized as an independent
state is always a question of fact as we'll
as a question of law. Before you can tell
what law is applicable to any particular
case you must ascertain what the facts are.
What are the facts with respect to Cuba?
Fortunately, in answering that question l
need not long or tediously detain the Sen
ate Not only from the newspapers and
other sources of information, but from pres
idential messages, from the last one re-
ceiVed, and especially and particularly from
the very able report of the chairman of the
committee on foreign relations, we have
been fully advised"
Mr.. Foraker then reverted to Cuban condi
tons and what Spain had DONE Continuing,
he said: Whenever the struggle on the part
of the sovereign to recover lost authority,
lost sovereignty has ceased to be attended
with a reasonable hope or expectation of
success, then other countries have a right
to recognize the independence of the oppoS-
ing to this resolution as it does naturally
hand in hand with independence When this
demand. which we all agree is to be made,
that Spain shall withdraw is made upon
her that minute she must either abdicate
which would leave the island free and in
dependent to the satisfaction, / imagine, of
of Independence or else, if she does not
abdicate, she must then give battle, declare
war. and what American can doubt or does
doubt the ultimate result of war If we are
so unfortunate as to have war?
Mr.. President. I now wish to speak of
the resolution which the minority of the
committee favor. The minority of the COM
mittee are not satisfied simply to recognize
the INDEPENDENCE of the people of that ISL
ant crx4f oils
peal TO senators in this chamber to stand
by us in that proposition-the government
set up by the insurgents referred to by the
President in his message as the 'so-called'
Cuban republic"
WHY He FAVORS RECOGNITION.
Mr.. Foraker then gave number of rea-
sons why the Cubans should be rec.
ognized, giving details as to the char
acter of the government The whole
country and whole world knew, he said,
that for more than three years war
has been in progress in Cuba and in all
that time Spain had been uniformly I'M
successful. Spain could never recover her
lost sovereignty. All the world knew that
bloody, cruel and destructive war was being
Waged on the island. Diplomacy and auton-
omy had alike failed to gain Spain's end on
the island Following diplomacy the Span-
lafds 4lad reSorted to the horrible scheme
oI concentration. and starvation, thereby
Inese enorts of Spain had been in vain.
While the insurgents were now better
eeqnlppedsand more active than ever before
the Spanish army had dwindled from
100000 to 60000 active soldiers and these were
Kept IN garrisons, afraid to venture out
over night lest old Gomez should capture
and carry them off. All these things being
true. the United States has the right to in
Ierqene and would perform a duty in so
uolng. he maintained that the present
Cuban republic ought to be recognized he
cause 1t was firm and stable constitutional
government. Mr.. Foraker declared that in
me matter of craftsmanship the President
and Vice President of the Cuban republic
would compare favorably with the President
and Vice President of the United States
Mr.. Foraker discussed at length the yari
GUS branches of the Cuban republics gov
eminent, showing that the financial. school
and postal systems were in his opinion
most excellent in all results.
MT. FORAKER, in concluding his statement
IS 10 the government of Cuba, said: Some
day when they will be made public when
Cuba has been made free, you will find that
IN the archives of our country, in the office
CT our own secretary of state are the off,
cla1 communications of the officials of the
republic of Cuba, and they are as creditable
as any that have come from any country
on oR,,i the globe communications of marked
WANTS GOMEZ AS AN ALLY.
Continuing, he said: I'VE should recog-
nize the existing government, if for nothing
else, as war measure. 1 do not doubt that
intervention by the United States will mean
war with Spain. We are bound to assume
that it will. That being the case we should
hand in hand with Intervention adopt this
other resolution recognizing not only the
people but the government also as indie
pendent, to the end that we may strengthen
those who are our natural allies and who
can do more for US than anybody else.
Gomez las now in the field, as l said a
while ago, some $1,000 or 10000 men, He
would have many thousand more if he had
guns and ammunition for them. The very
moment the United States intervenes and
recognizes the independence of that repub-
lie Gomez can swell that army from IS 600
and all we will have to do will be to put
guns and ammunition in their hands and
they will speedily evict the Spanish bat
taliOns from the Island of Cuba. If we will
only with our navy blockade the harbors
so they can take in no boats no provisions
the Cubans will speedily put an end to- the
war and there will be no necessity for this
government to expose our troops TO the
favageS of yellow fever and to other diff
culties and disadvantages that would at
tend a campaign in that island in the rainy
season. We have all been told by the news
papers and otherwise, and l have never
seen any contradiction of it, and therefore
/ have assumed that it is true, that the
revenues of Cuba have been by solemn
enactment of the Spanish kingdom pledged
to the payment of the principal and interest
OF $4O00OO,00O OF Spanish-Cuban 4-per-cent.
bonds.
MIR. President. what will be- the conse-
quence to- this government if we go down
into that island treating them as in state
OF anarchy, turning our back on Gomez
ana his government, denying that there is
any government, banishing Spanish from