The San Francisco call., 1898-04-14
Text of the Minority Re- port Introduced in
 the House.
Recognizes the Independence of the People of the
 Island.
Wre cking of the Maine Considered but One Spanish Act of
 Revocation.
Special Dispatch to The Call.
Call Office. Riggs House,
 WaShingtOn. April 13

Cdll Olllce, fIlSSS house,
 Washington, April 13.
 The following is the text of the re- port of the minority of the House For eign Affairs Committee in support of it's resolution for the intervention and re- cognition 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 of the United States which was transmitted to Congress on Monday, April Il, 1898, and on that day referred to said commit tee, submit the following report to the House of Representatives:
 We recommend the following resolu- tions as a substitute for the resolutions submitted by the majority of the Com mlttee on Foreign Affairs:
 Joint resolution
 Resolved, That the United States Gov ernment hereby recognize the independ- ence of the republic of Cuba.
 Second-That, moved thereto by many considerations of humanity, of interest deliberate mooring of our battle-ship Maine over a submarine mine and it's destruction in the harbor of Havana, the President of the United States be and ne 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 here by recognized.
 Third-That the President of the United States is hereby authorized and directed to extend immediate relief to the starv- ing CubanS.
 In support of the first resolution, guided by motives of humanity and interest, in- nuenced by divers provocationS among which are the deliberate mooring of our Dattle-Shlp Maine over a submarine mine, it's ruthless destruction 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.
 1 With short intervals, a revolution has been in progress in Cuba, destroying our commerce and causing financial loss to our citizens and unprecedented mortality among the contending factions. For more than three years the Cuban patriots have struggled for freedom with courage, for utude ana seIf-abnegation uneXcelled in the annals of the human race. These people are our near neighborS, closely connected with us by ties of business and of friendship. In their aspirations for liberty, they. have been animated by our example and have modelled their form of government upon ours
 During these, three years the Spaniards have butchered the people, starved help less women, children and old men by hundreds of thousands and have wasted the island by fire and sword in violation or all the rules of civilized warfare These acts of barbarous cruelty have filled the American people with horror and they are practically unanimously in favor of recognizing the independence of the eov- ernment established by that brave and heroic people by the expenditure of so HNlch treasure and so much blood and less. "-''i 4o'iiii6 The Government which the Cubans nave established has all the forms of a republic and is a republic in fact based oIi manhood suffrage, executive and leg 1slative departments in full operation and with Judicial department perfect as far as the eXlgencfeS of the situation permit Ihey levy and collect taxes, dsburse N,7, system, maintain an army of 30,000 men in the field, have defended themselves successfully against 225,O00 Spanish sol diers, 135,000 of whom are in hospitals or III their graves, and are now in undis- puted possession of e-fourthS of the island. Outside her picket lines Spain possesses not one foot of Cuban soil Within her picket lines three-fourths of the population are insurgents at heart, who will cordially participate in the re- publican government as soon as the Spaniards evacuate the island.
 With these facts staring us in the face we must realize that Spain can never con quer Cuba and that ultimately we must recognize the independence of the Cuban republic; This being the case the sooner we act the better for all concerned there by putting an end to the sacrifice of human life and the destruction of proper ty. We urge the unequivocal recognition or the independence of the Cuban repub- lie because the Cuban patriots merit such recognition by their valor and prowess in arms; because recognition is the plain honest, courteous, manly course, and will remove from the minds of all men any suspicion that we are preparing to wage war of conquest and to annex the isl and from motives of sordid greed or as the beginning of a policy of imperial ag- grandiZement.
 We urge the recognition of the existing republic because under international law only an existing government can be recog- nized, and because, recognizing the pres fro 10 1iY41r Nf the Cuban patriots the fear that we will force upon them a government which they do not want; we urge because with out such recognition, in the event of war lie, 1t would be war against Cuba also, for until the recognition Of her independ- ence she is, in the contemplation ofsinter- national law, still a part of Spain.
 Recognizing the independence of the re- public will give the. Cubans credit among the. nations of the world, thereby en- abling them So use all their resources to the utmost and. will influence men of other countries to reinforce the Cubans with the assurance that they will be treated as soldiers and will not be hanged as traitors, filibuSterS or pirates in fhe event of capture.
 We urge the passage of the second res oiution. providing for armed intervention as necessary and logical sequence to the Cuban republic.
 Facts must be considered as they actu- ally exist, not as we would have them, and one of the most potent or patent facts of the situation is that Spain re- fuses to realize what all the rest of the world knows to be true-that Cuba has passed from her control forever This being the case. she will hold on with the strength of despair to fragments of the island as long as possible, thereby per petuating the process of starvation. ar son and extermination wherever she can and by occasional forays ravishing the country adjacent to her garrisons. We have no doubt that our simple recogni- ton Of the republic of Cuba would enable the Cubans themselves to ultimately ex- pei the Spaniards from every portion of the island. Armed intervention on our part would end the agony of the brave people, save thousands of them from death: and speedily close the most dis e4rast ge4raceful chapter in the. history of the W estern Hemisphere. We owe this duty to ourselves no less than to the Cubans. we recommend the adoption of the tnlrd resolution, to feed the famished ity.