The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1899-06-10
WORDS OF A PATRIOT.

WORDS Or a fAIh1O1.
General Maxine Gomez, ex-cOm-
mander.in-chief of the Cuban army,
and in laying aside the sword to take
up the duties of private citizen, the
grand old patriot displays sentiment
that is indeed admirable. In his fare
we'll to his soldiers, General Gomez
says:
'The mission I have heen entrusted
with is nearly concluded. l have at
tempted to find solution of questions
concerning the army which [ COM
manded during the bloodiest war
known in Cuba. 1 am now leaving,
regretfully, to attend to necessary
private business. A parting word to
the people to whom 1 have sacrificed
80 years of my life, and to my friends
in the army just disbandet,' which ac'
tions have. been taken instantly after
the removal of the bloody weight OF
Spain's merciless regime. We armed
ourselves, and, therefore, we no longer
want soldiers, but men for the main
tenauce of peace and order, which are
the basis of Cuba's future welfare.
st is necessary to understand that
the nation in this epoch, the most
difficult in its history, should avail it.
self of the opportunity to show that it
possesses virtues, in spite of the vices
caused by military government and
the harshness of warlike life. We
wanted and depended upon foreign in
tervention to terminate the war. This
occurred at the most terrible moment
of our contest. and resulted in Spain's
defeat But none of us thought this
extraordinary event :Tould be followed
by military occupation ofthe country
by our allies, who treat US as people
incapable of acting for ourselves, and
who have reduced US to obedience, to
submission and to the tutelage imposed
by force of circumstances. This can
not be our ultimate fate after the
years of struggle, and we should aid,
by every pacific method, in finishing
the work of organizing, which thu
Americans accepted in the protocol,
and which is as disagreeable for them
as for ourselves. This aid will prove
useless without concord among all the
islanders. Therefore, it is necessary
to forget the past disagree ments, to
completely unite all and to organize q
political party, which is needed in any
country.
SIT is always said countries have the
government which they merit, and
Cuba will have that which ner heroism
entities her to. Today she can only
have one party in Cuba, with one OBJ
ject that of obtaining the aspiration
of years.
"We must devote ourselves to pacific
labor, gain the respect of the world
and show that though our war was
honorable, our peace must be more 80.
We must make useless, by our be-
havior, the presence of strange
power in the Island, and must assist
the Americans to complete the honor
able mission tney have been COM
PEELED to assume by force of circum-
stances. This work was not sought by
those rich Northerners, owners of a
continent. l think DOUBT and sus-
picions are unjus. We must form
s ~
Immediately a committee or a club to
be a nucleus of government. This
will serve Cuba. ;.
"I, as one of the first Cubans, al
though one of our last soldiers and
not far from the grave, without passion
or ambition, call on you with the sin
cerity of father and urge cessation
of the superhuous discussions and the
creation of parties of all kinds, which
disturb the country and tend to cause
anarchy. In this country there should
not be one man whom we consider a
stranger. Today we no longer have
autonomists or conservatives, but
only Cubans. My, mission having
ended, will absent selftemporarily
to embrace mJ family, bus will re-
turn shortly to Cuba, which I love as
much as my own land. My last words
for my soldiers are that as always
where my tent is the Cubans have q
friend"