The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1899-10-31

as IL was necessary u uTdW away lHt
insurgent army from one region to
| another, the work was slow and was
not completed until some eight months
after President McKinley's inaugura-
tion.
Then about four-sevenths of the
native population having been thus
penned up to die by slow starvation,
and Weyler's work being so far ad-
vanced that another could easily see
it finished, the blunt butcher was re-
called, and Blanco, the bland hypocrite,
was sent to watch Weyler's machine
finish it's work.
These concentrates, native Cubans,
and few native Americans did not
starve at once; they had brought
something with them. That was soon
exhausted Besides they were permitted
to go out to the limits of the free
zone around each fortified town, cover
ed by the guns of the garrison.
But, these small patches of ground
could not support a population Of
about eight hundred thousand The
products of these generous patches
of soil, both cultivated and spontan-
eous, were soon devoured; even the
earth worms soon gave out; the weak
est starved to death first; those who
could go out farther and dig deeper
stretched out their inexpressibly
wretched lives little longer.
The first reports of death from star
vation came to us in May, 1897; in
June the concentrates were starving by
| hundreds; by September the death rate
| had been multiplied several times, and
| they were dying by thousands in
| December, when President Mckinley
sent his first regular message to cong
ress, in which he quoted Secretary of
State Fish's long argument that we
had no right to recognize either the
| belligerence or the independence of
the Cuban insurgents. President Nc
Kinley did not explain that the condi-
tions in Cuba were very different from
the conditions in President Grants
time; he did not explain the perfidy of
Spain in 1878 q fact that alone would
have justified a radical change in our
policy; but, he left us to infer that the
great Grant would have sent the same
kind of a message at this time. He
sought to hide his shame behind
Grants noble name.
BY the way, Grant, who was one OF
our officers in the Mexican war; said
that, on our part, it was an "unholy
war" Was he traitor too?
During the summer and fall, the
president had been begging members
of congress to be patient and to trust
him and to help him keep the people
quiet and to trust their president
He had plan, great plan; they mus
| not ask questions about it, and it woulC
come out all right. Editors who haC
received offices or who had their rela
tives appointed like Kohlsaat, CRIED
what a patient man is our president,
and all the little echoes repeated
; patient man." Abominable nonsense
Mckinley is a patient man, but tina
: wasn't patience! Patience is to suf
: fer in ones own person willingly for
good cause; it is not patience to lool
on the suffering of others withou
, using the means at our command t
relieve them.
) Mr.. Hannis Taylor, President Cleve
lands minister to Spain, said tn
r message was heartless and selfish"
r In his last message President Cleve
} land had said that no other grea
{ power would, under similar circum
= stances, have been so patient. Resolu
= tions were at once introduced in bot
D of Illinois, said "if we wait for prece
! dent (for recognizing Cuban belliger
- ency) we shall wait forever. If
r precedent is needed we shall max
= one. When we announced tn
t Monroe doctrine in 1923 it was in de
Y fiance of precedent"
l A majority of Republicans, both i
and out of congress, were clamorou
i for recognition, which was defeate
S only by the claim set up that tn
+ president had sole power in the matter
; Secretary Olney said wait; the neN
administration policy must not b
forestalled." Republicans said: "Ye!
wait until our own Mckinley is i
y and We'll ret all the glory for maxim
Cuba free" Mckinley is inaugurated
e he calls IA special session of congres
but says nothing about Cuba. 1t wa
not necessary.
. The Dingley bill, a very goo
4 measure, was the only thing discussed
: A quiet word from President Mo
: Kinley to a select few of the senator
:, and representatives, that a genuin
: American plan for Cuba was about t
be adopted-that the hopes raised b
the Cuban plank in the st. Louis plat
= form were to be realized-iust such
hint as Mckinley knows so we'll ho'
. to overnight have hastened the pas
= sage of that bill. But it passed
>, good time, and was signed July 24tl
Then the president disappointed til
= people, both by what he said on tn
money question and by what he di
: not Say on the Cuban question. Hint
(, were again thrown out that he had
= plan for settling the Cuban questio
= that would completely satisfy tn
. American people, but we must /
. patient.
His apologists pointed with pride
:. to the fact that brave, sympathett
d American citizens, who had been cal
: tured while trying to help free Cubs
d had not been shot, but had been libei
d ated as a result of his diplomacy.
@ In this the Spaniards were shrew
enough to accommodate him. Our pee
s pie were restrained, but not quite sal
Il isfied.
= The Cuban plank on the platform o
e which Mckinley had been elected ha