The Portland daily press., 1898-04-16
A CRITICISM OF THE PHELPS LETTER
Such as Many an American Has Been Max
for Himself, But Cannot Express So
Well.
George Hawthorne Smith in the New
York 1ribune.)

The tone of Mr.. Phelps's letter is con-
servative a quality all thoughtful men
admit to be of priceless value in present
affairs of state. All the more, therefore.
is it to be regretted if, while endeavoring
to reach sound conclusions, Mr.. Phelps
should seem to make use of arguments
that belittle the very virtue it is his man.
ifest purpose to exalt. In human affairs
it is the Intelligent practice of couser-
gatism that saves; not its blind employ
ment always. There is time to go for
ward, as we'll as r tine to hold back; a
time to fight, and time to pray. Elk
tremes meet often. The very loftiest vlr-
tue may be made to appear ridiculous,
sometimes vicious, by an extreme appli.
cation of it, And, If conservatism of &C.
ton such as Mr.. Phelps advocates would
lead us ultimately to consider only the
wealth of..this nation, not its responsiblh-
ty; only the safety of this nation, not its
duty; only it's profit, not its Justice; only
it's peace. not it's honor-then is the
nation justified in rejecting such policy.
Is there in MIR. Phelps's letter any
counsel or suggestion affecting these
higher attributes of nation alluded to
to follow him-any teaching that we
should reject? Let us see.
In considering the Cuban situation Mr..
Phelps dismisses the possibility of its be-
coming complicated by the disaster to the
Maine by the saying that mo completely
on the part of Spain in that calamity is
found to exist" 1 am unable to regard
this as an exact use of the words for his
purpose. The Maine was blown up by
ubmarine mine; that much has been
found. OF course, proof OF direct oInclal
connection with the final act of destruction
on the part of Spain may be lacking; 1T
generally is, in such cases made and pro-
Vided Rut-complicity2 May not the
completely that makes an act possible,
that precedes the act itself, be culpable?
Shall the one so guilty escape? Sir, lt
was no toy firecracker, no crude torpedo
hastily constructed by some fanatic, that
sank a noble ship and did our brothers to
death! That mine was there because
Spain, by her representative at Havana,
wished it there; and the Maine was
directed to anchor where she was de-
stroyed because. the same Spain wished it.
There are some facts clear in this matter;
there are differences unavoidable. Is the
legal dictum as to an accessory before the
fact to be excluded from consideration
here?
On the subject of reparation under
claim based on negligence kconfess do
not understand Mr.. Phelps at all His
argument, addressed to those who would
invoke the rule as to liability of one
nation for damages caused by it's negli-
gence toward another, and who would
apply this rule to the case OF the Maine,
is that eff Spain must guarantee the
safety Of our ships in her ports, whether
herself in fault or not, we must equally
guarantee to her that armed expeditions
to subvert her government shall not be
fitted out and dispatched from ours 1t
is difficult to reconcile this with the
known and accepted facts of our govern
lnent's efforts to arrest flibusters. When
and where and in what manner did this
government permit the wrong hsre
charged to it by implications. If Mr.
Phelps has any knowledge that makes his
argument Just and pertinent if he knows
of conniyance that would render his eau
ton necessary, he should reveal 1t. 1
lake it that what Mr.. Phelps has in mind
when he speaks of EARNED expeditions"
is the expectation of merchandise for use
in warfare, as matter of private enter
prise and trade. AS to this the opinion of
1heordoTe S. Woolsey, professor of in ter
national law in Yale university, given In
The Independent of March II, 1898, is as
follows: Military supplies have been
sent out from our ports, but that is a law
full traffic The burden of preventing it
belongs to Spain.
1t is equally difficult to understand Mr..
Phelpss position in regard to the posi-
bility Of armed Intervention by the o nit
ed States for the purpose of stopping
wholesale murder in Cuba, a proceeding
at which he looks most decidedly askance,
querying whether or not it be "the pre-
tense that conceals motive" "Tl.e
country appears to be drifting" into a
war with Spain, he says, "ohiefiy through
the exertions of those who have an inter-
est in bringing it about. ;" Does this care
f1,1 ffoy1 fn Ind
tor among "those?" The American peo-
pie do not will venture to say. 1 think
they regard the testimony of this distin-
guished eyewitness as reliable, and as of
more value than Mr.. Phelps's opinion,
at least That testimony constitutes the
chief knowledge we have of the condition
in Cuba today that together with the de-
struction of the Maine, may make war a
righteous necessity.
The reooncentrados, whose restitution
and suffering are the horrible element in
those conditions, Mr.. Phelps describes as
people whose homes, plantations and
industries have been destroyed in the
course of the rebellion. and who are now
gathered in temporary shelters provided
by the Spanish government. Very tenn
porary, so short, indoed, as to be made
quate to sustain life at its lowest; shelter
SO unspeakably cruel that the objects of 1t
have been starving to death by hundreds
of thousands The frightful travesty Of
truth which Mr.. Phelps's version of this
matter embodies needs no setting forth
do not permit myself to believe that he
is correctly informed of the facts Either
he is mistaken, or else the sources of his
information are superior to those of the
distinguished public men whose accounts
we have heard. Those accounts were
derived from experiences and observation.
And they simply confirm what was al
ready known-that these reconcentrados
are non-comb atants, compelled by order
of the Spanish government to forsake
their homes and such means of subsis-
tence as the soil might afford, and, herded
together in fortified towns, whence escape
is possible only under risk OF death, have