The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-04-14
HOUSE MINORITY REPORT.
Supporting Intervention and Recog-
milton of Cuban Insurgents.

Supporting Intervention and Recog-
milton of Cuban Insurgents.
Washington. April 1s.-The following
is the text of the report of the minority
Of the house foreign affairs committee,
in support OF their resolution for inter-
vention and recognition of the CUBAN
insurgents:
We the undersigned, members of the
committee on foreign affairs of the
house of representatives, having con-
sidered the message of the president or
the United States, which was trans
mitted to congress on Monday, April II,
1898, and on that day referred to said
committee, submit the following report
tc the house of representatives
We recommend the following resolu-
items, as q substitute for the resoiu-
tions submitted by the majority of the
committee on foreign affairs:
JOINT RESOLUTION.
Resolved, That the United States
government hereby recognizes the indie
pendence of the republic of Cuba.
Second, that, moved thereto by many
considerations of humanity, of interest
and of Drovocation, among which are
the deliberate mooring of our battle
its destruction in the harbor OF Havana,
the president of the United States be,
and is hereby directed to employ imme-
diately the land and naval forces OF
the United States in aiding the republic
of Cuba to maintain the independence
hereby recognized.
Third, that the president of the Unit
ed States is hereby authorized and d.
rected to extend immediate relief to the
starving Cubans.
FIRST IS THE MAINE
In support of the first resolution.
guided by motives of humanity. and OF
interest influenced by divers proVoca-
tions, among which are the deliberate
mooring of our battleship Maine over
a submarine mine, its ruthless destruc-
ton in the harbor of Havana, and the
death of 266 seamen, we submit the
facts to the house, to our countrymen,
and to the world. For more than
quarter OF g. century, with short inter-
walls, a revolution has been in progress
in Cuba, destroying our commerce and
causing great financial loss to our clll-
zens and unprecedented MORTALITY
among the contending factions. For
more than three years the Cuban pa
triots have struggled for freedom with
courage, fortitude and self-abnegation.
unexcelled in the annals of the human
race The people are our near neigh
bOrs. closely connected with US by the
ties of friendship. In their aspirations
for liberty, they have been animated by
our example, and have modelled their
form OF government upon ours.
BUTCHERY OF CUBANS.
During these three years the Span
iards have butchered these people,
starved helpless women and children
and old men by hundreds of thousands,
and have wasted the island by fire and
sword, in violation of all the rules OF
civilized warfafe.
These acts of barbarous cruelty have
filled the American people with horror,
and they are practically unanimously
in favor OF recognizing the indeDend-
ence of the government established
by that brave and heroic people, by the
of so much treasure and so
much blood, and our people will be sat
isfied with nothing else. The govern
ment which the people of Cuba have
established has all the forms of re-
public, and is a republic in fact, based
on manhood. suffrage, and has legisla-
tive ard executive departments in full
operation, and with a judicial depart
ment as perfect as the exigencies of the
situation permit They levy and col
lect taxes, distribute large sums of
money conduct a postal system main
tain an army of $4,000 men in the field,
have defended themselves successfully
against 225,000 Spanish soldiers, $4,000
Of whom are In hospitals or in their
graves, and are now in undisputed pos
session Of three-fourthS of the island. !
Outside her picket lines, Spain pos
sesses not one foot of soil. Within her
picket lines three-fourths of the popu- |
al 70 ms q
cordially participate in the republican
government, as soon as the SDaniards
evacuate the island.
NEVER CONQUER CUBA.
With these facts staring us in the
face, we must realize that Spain can
never conquer Cuba, and that ulti-
nately we must recognize the indie /
Dendence Of the Cuban republic. This
being the case, the sooner we act, the
better for all concerned, thereby put
ing an end to the sacrifice of human
ife and the destruction of property.
We urge the unequivocal recognition /
# the independence of the Cuban re-
public. because the Cuban patriots ,
merit such recognition by their Valor /
md prOwess in arms; because recog- (
lition is the plain, honest. courteous, 4
manly course, and will remove from the 4
We are preparing to wage war of /
conquest and to annex the island from /
motives of sordid greed, or as the be- 4
ginning of a policy of imperial aggran- /
Element. We urge the recognition of .
he existing republic, because by in /
law only an existing gov
rnment can be recognized, and because /
" recognizing the present republic we {
lift from the minds of the Cuban pa
hem a government which they do not /
want. We urge it because without such /
in the event of war be- /
ween Spain and the American republic, /
t would be war against Cuba also,
or until the recognition of her indie
she is. in the contemplation
# international law, still a part Of /
spain.
AMONG THE NATIONS.
Recognizing the independence of the
epublic viii give the Cubans credit
mong the nations of the world, there
" enabling them to use all their re-
ources to the utmost, and will infiu-
nee men of other countries to re-
nforce the Cubans with the assurance
hat they will be treated as soldiers
nd will not be hanged as traitors, fill
busters or pirates in the event of cap
ure.
We urge the passage of the second
esolution providing for armed inter-
ention, as a necessary and logical Sc
uence to the recognition Of the in
dependence of the Cuban republic.
FACTS AS THEY EXIST.
Facts must be considered as they ac-
ually exist, not as we would have
hem, and one of the most potent or
atent facts of the situation is that
pain refuses to realize what all the
est of the world knows to be true