The evening times., 1898-07-25
Nh. sHrarAns or1n1oa.

Believes That the Cubans ShouIA
Not De Ignored.
John Sherman. ex-Secretary Of State.
believes that II Gen. Shafter ignored Gen.
Garcia he erred.
Mr.. Sherman said to a Times man last
night: II regret to hear Of the reported
differences between Gems. shafter and
Garcia in Cuba. II the Cubans deserved
enough respect to be recognized by Amer
lea, 1t seems to me they should be re-
spected on the field of battle. They have
battled for liberty and freedom from
Spanish tyranny for half century or
more, and now that the object which they
have SO long fought for Is in sight they
should share In the fruits of the victory.
Gen. Garcia should have been invited to
the surrender Of Santiago. and II he was
not a blunder was made.
Congress passed resolution to expel
Spain from Cuba. In that resolution 1t
was clearly stipulated that We would
leave the island to the control of the peo-
pie thereof after firm and stable gov
ernment had been established. Therefore
We cannot with any show of consistency
lay claim to the island after It has been
taken from Spain.
ut is yet to be determined whether or
not the Cubans are capable Of self
government II they are, well and good.
We should turn the island over to them,
but IL the Cubans become dissatisfied
with their form of government after we
set 1t up. and rebel against II, we would
doubtless feel called upon to step in and
take the island. This, to my mind, Is
the only contingency which could arise
wherein the Unged States would be
justified in taking Cuba
"At this time 1t is not possible to form
an approximate estimate OF the amount
of indemnity we should demand from
Spain. Much depends on future events.
It seems to me, however. that the Maine
incident should not be lost sight of when
the United States begins to figure on in
demnity. / have always believed that
the Maine was blown up by the Span
iards. 1t may be- however. that the act
was done su-reu;itiously and without the
knowledge of the Spanish government
But the Maine went into a friendly har-
Dor on a friendly mission, and should
have been protected while in that har-
Dor. This Is a fact which the American
people cannot lose sight of.
"Of the Spanish territory which may
accrue to US because of the war there is
only one island which l would be in
favor of retaining, and that Is Porto
would be desirable acquisition. But.
as believe. there is no excuse for TAX
ing the Philippines or Cuba.
Annexation Of the Philippine Islands
would mean endless trouble for our Gov
'Tnment- Already we are confronte
with the insurgent leader Aguinaldo who
has bedecked himself with jewels.
whistles and other trinkets to distinguish
himself from other mortaIs. II we at
tempt to lay claim to the Philippine
group we may have serious trouble with
the insurgents.
Porto Rico Is needed as . coaling sta
ton for our warshps in time of war and
for our merchantmen in time of peace
The day has come when We should have
coaling stations in all parts of the
world. The present war has forc.bly
demonstrated that coal Is as valuable as
gunpowder. and we should make every
provision for fuel in the future.
I'VE have a navy Of fair proportions
but in the future will require an enlarge-
ment Of our present sea force. am em-
phaticaEy in favor OF an increase In our
naval strength, but 1t Is just as well
that this increase should come gradu-
ally.
Our land forces also should be aug
mented; a standing army of 50. 600 would
not be too large for our population.
IAN interoceanic canal, which I hope
to see constructed in the near future
would be Of great advantage to us in
defending our western sea coast II
would do away with the necessity of
maintaining large navy IN the Pacific
"A canal connecting the Atlantic and Pa
cific Oceans should be bust by the Cow
ernment-"