Worcester morning daily spy. (Worcester, Mass.) 1888-1898, 1898-03-18
PALMA'S STATEMENT.
The cubans, He Declares, Are As Firm of
Purpose As Ever.

New York, March 1.-THE following
proclamation was issued by 7. Estrada
Palma at the office of the Cuban junta
here tonight:
| To the American people The fire.
quency with which there have lately APP
peared in the public press suggestions
made by malicious or misinformed indi-
viduals that Cuba would accept, or
could be forced to accept autonomy, or
anything short of independence. has i'm
PEELED me to make definite and final
statement on this subject. From the
first, our motto has been Independence
or deathr'
We are now more firmly than ever de-
termined to carry out our program. As
we will not accept, we VIII not even
discuss, the proposals of autonomy At
ter three years of the most sanguinary,
barbarous and uncivlized warfare of
modern times, carried on by Spain, we
are stronger than ever 1t is for us to
say what will satisfy us, not fer others.
our ideals. and our national honor we
can confide to the keeping of ourselves
alone.
L cannot think that the American
people have forgotten the principle laid
down in their own declaration of inde-
pendence, nor can 1 believe that any
true American can be found who would
advise us to forsake the ideal of repub-
Ican government for the monarchial.
even in its most liberal form. There is
no way to compel the Cubans to accept
by force of arms
We have fought three years. not
against Spain alone. but against the
whole world. Not helping hand was
| extended to us; no country gave us
equal rights with Spain. The right to
arm our people by purchase OF weapons
in this country, and Transporting them
to Cuba is admitted, but although en-
gagged in lawful traffic, we had to run
the blockade to get from these shores,
and again run the gauntlet in Cuba. Our
| ships and cargoes were seized, subject
| cd to delay, but invariably restored by
the slow and costly process of the law.
Nevertheless, we never faltered We al
ways appreciated the fact that the SYM
pathy of the American people was with
us. spain has proven impotent to COM
pei US by force to accept autonomy. She
now desires the aid of the United States
to compel us to accept
cannot believe that the American
people would ever lend itself to the
most treacherous and bloodstained mon
archy OF history for such a purpose.
Should such prove to be the
case, however, I declare, in the
name of the Cuban people In
arms, that force alone can compel our
submission. We, who have seen hun
dreds of thousands Of our race and fam
lies exterminated by slow starvation
by cowardly decree of the most inhu-
man commander of sanguinary Spain,
Will fight against everything but indie
pendence, no matter who opposes us.
IL, unfortunately, this incredible pro-
posal Is to be carried into effect, and
American bayonets are arrayed against
us in our struggle for freedom and in
aid Of the Spanish monarchy, we will
tight on, sadly but determined and let
history judge whether the vanquished
had not purer ideal of free institutions
than the victors
In such case we viii be exterminated,
but future generations will again take
UP our flag and our aspirations and
Cuba will yet be free.
Nor Will we ever agree to truce UNI
til our independence is established
We will continue to fight as did the
Americans under Jackson at the battle
of New Orleans, even after the treaty of
peace is signed, if 1t should be necessary.
The Cubans canot be convinced that
United States will ever try to force us
to remain under the Spanish flag, but
have deemed it my duty to appeal to the
generosity, the sympathy and the patli-
otism of the American people, to the end
that they may understand the justice
and fir1nness of our demand for COM
plete independence.
(SigneO
Thomas Estrada Palama.