The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1899-03-24
AND CUBA LIBRE
he Patriot Leader Discusses
MI the Islands Future.
leRATITUDE TO THE AMERICANS.

s#9 unihhHs the 1Hited STATES VIII speed
fly Recognize Cuban Independence.
American and Cuban Flags Flont-
anE Together Over the Island.
"Cuha free, independent and its PEG.
pie united for honest government. peace
and prosperity That is what Maxine
Gomez says is his hope for the future
"Cuha. said General Gomez 10 Il
Newspaper interviewer at Matan2as
where he was recently given an Uva
tion, must decide its own future. and
] realize that the present problems are
quite as serious as those solved by force
OF arms. and that the independence for
which blood has been SO freely spilled
might be thrown away by a few acts of
folly But the conduct Of the real Gu
bans since the protocol was signed by
Spain and the United States must chal
lenge the admiration of the world Our
forces, half Of them without sufficient
nourishment, have kept the peace and
compelled the camp followers. who
hocked to us when victory was assured
10 observe the laws
'Brigandage might have been ex
pected, but there has been none Some
Spanish guerrillas recently began depre
dations, and the Cubans have suppress
ed them, No reprisaIs have been levied
upon those who did not favor our cause
during the instruction
we now invite all classes to join rs
in forgetting that war ever divided the
people of the island My greatest ambi.
ton is to see Cuba free and independent
and its people united for honest govern,
ment, peace and prosperity This can
be accomplished more easily than many
think The Spaniards in Cuba are dis.
playing IA willingness to meet the Gu.
bans half way They are beginning to
learn that we desire peace and protec,
ton for all
''Since Jan / sentiment throughout
Cuba has changed materially Another
two months will see all classes trater.
nizing One year will do more to blot
ont the hatreds engendered by the in.
snrrection than ten did to reconcile the
people of the north and south after the
civil war in the United States.
There has been so much misrepre.
sentation Of facts that the American
people are perhaps not blameworthy il
they have misjudged the Cubans, but
~ or,a fhinu war, n hn uJr al ~,
bans acknowledge their deep debt Of
gratitude to the Americans Go where
you will in this island and you will
find the Cuban and American flags
floating together But that does not
mean that the peo' wish the latter to
replace the former
"lf good Judgment and forbearance
be used, Cuba will ever acknowledge
a commercial and sentimental ale,
glance to the United States, but those
who have risked their lives and those
who have sacrificed loved ones at the
call of patriotism cannot be expected to
lrelinVuish their fondest hopes. even at
the invitation of that friend who held
out~~i liu dlllOSl SdiI tdiNlly~d ltlp-
ing hand in the hour Of need.
patriotism and love Of country can
never properly be weighed in the bal.
ance against gold, yet many American
periodicals say that the Cubans are
blind because they cannot see the finan.
'cial advantage Of linking their fate
with the United States The Cuban
ibirthright is not for sale
"Now let me say that unless | great.
~ misjndge the people Of the United
States. the majority Of them will de-
mand the redemption of those promises
made by congress The selfish politi-
Clans in the United States form Il dan
gerous element. as they do in all other
will Of the people, in whose hands the
future Of Cuba is safe
lyon ask what proportion Of the in
surgent troops will return to their or
binary vacations when the forces are
disbanded The same proportion that
has kept the peace since the war ended
all Of them. They want enough
money to give them o proper start, and
! hope some means will be discovered
of providing that those who return to
the fields should have a yoke Of oxen
and seed.
Much can be accomplished with the
So. 900, 900 provided by President Nc.
but more will be needed With
natural n pledged as BE-
there will be little difficulty in
securing a loan sufficient to pay the
army in full Those who are entitled