The herald., 1898-04-16

Prefacing his discussion of the question
| at issue, he stated that he would vote for
the committee resolution. He then char
| acterized as almost criminal the asper-
sions made by senators on the floor against
the chief executive.
| He spoke of the two phases of the situa-
tton--the condition in Cuba and the de-
struction of the Maine.
If the two subjects had been separated.
| he continued, the necessity OF war might
| have been avoided. If the awful barbara
| ties in Cuba, which had aroused the pity
| of all mankind, had stood alone, there
| might have been solution of the problem.
| For himself, he would care little what
the burden it entaied. He would have been
willing to mortgage every citizen, IL only
peace could be preserved. But Spain re-
fused to yield. And then, when, added to
that, came the awful explosion in Ha-
vana harbor, the die was cast. After that,
what could be said? "If even that catas-
trophe had stood alone, possibly war might
have been averted. But not by any meth
DDS Spain has thus far pursued" he added,
his voice ringing clear as bell. From the
day of the explosion to this, Spain has done
nothing except to make the most perfume
| tory expressions of regret. She has made
no attempt to eXculpate herself or to re-
| dress the wrong. If Spain freed Cuba to-
| day, we would have offered up 266 American
| sailors upon the altar of her freedom. War
| must come or Cuba must be free. No other
answer will be accepted by our people. The
honor of a nation must be lnviolable.
Personally, regret that there cannot
be found in Cuba government we can rec
ognze. 1 wish we could For there is un-
deniably danger in these days of syndicates
and commercialism that men who play
upon human life as they do on loans and
chattels for the advancement of selfish in
terests will seek to glut their greed here.
Pure Motives
in the eyes of every man in Europe we
must be free from Interior motives" he
went on, eff we are to preserve their re-
spect and our own. This war upon which
we are entering can bring us no material
gain. 1t will result in the loss of millions
of our commerce. 1t will sweep our ships
from the sea and will leave thousands of
eases in the tropics. All this must be
counted in advance, and we have counted it.
1 believe the day for Cuban freedom has
tory there will be no territory to indem
Nifty US for our sacrifices, because We do
not want territory. There will be no mon
ey to indemnify US, because Spain is bank
rupt. We must find our supreme satisfac-
ton for our blood and treasure in relieving
the cry of the suffering and the cause of
humanity. This war must be fought be-
cause, in the eyes of the world, we stand
as the sentinel of liberty on the western
| hemisphere, and because if we fail to listen
to the voice of the suffering and down
trodden we will be untrue to the principles
upon which the government is founded as
upon a rock
AS Spooner was recognized the scene in
the chamber was a notable one. The
throng of auditors, both in the galleries
and on the floor, had greatly increased, and
among them were many of national fame
and prominence, including members Of the
supreme court.
Spooner's Speech
Mr. Spooner was the next speaker He
also thought we were on the threshold of
war. He deprecated the reflections upon
| the character of the president. Mr. Spooner
said if there were any Spanish bond holders
| in the United States he did not know it.
but he did know that the president was in
| capable of being Influenced by such O.
thought.
| Mr.. Spooner said he desired the freedom
and independence Of Cuba, but he wanted
all resources exhausted to prevent war.
Mr. Spooner commended the presidents
bearing in the emergency, saying that out
side of Spain there was not a newspaper
of consequence that did not applaud his
course This meant much for It, meant
the sympathy of foreign countries, be-
cause when the struggle begins no one can
tell where it will end, or who will be in
voved.
Mr.. Spooner approved the spirit, tone
ard language of the message. The presi-
dent was not called upon to treat the
Maine disaster with passionate words. We
know now, he said, that all the delays
were justified by the circumstances and
that we had not heretofore been prepared
for war Mr. Spooner contended that it
was an impossibility that our guns should
be trained upon Gomez.
Mr.. Spoorer also declared that the presi.
dents message was not written in the hope
of securing party advantage.
Mr.. Spooner reprobated the demand for
war. He said the pension roll of s140 O0O,-
of the civil war were eloquent protests
against war and Of support of the prssl-