New-York tribune., 1900-08-04
a RICKETY PLATFORM.

Referring to Cuban affairs the Kansas City
platform says: THE war ended nearly two
years ago profound peace reigns over all the
island, and still the Administration keeps the
government of the island from its people,
while Republican carpet bag officials plunder
Its revenues and exploit the colonial theory to
''the disgrace of the American people" Much
of the substance and all of the spirit of that
paragraph are untruthful. 1t is designed to
spread belief that the Republican Admins
tration is already breaking faith with Cuba
and means to continue so TO do indefinitely. 1t
is a fact, and remarkable and gratifying fact,
that profound peace reigns over all the island,
and the reason for that condition of things is
that the island has been governed, on the
whole, with sagacity, skill and Scrupulous in
tegrity. Uniform good order and large meas
ure of contentment testify in the most con-
vlncing manner to the wisdom and justice
with which it's affairs have been conducted A
few knaves III the postal service have been
guilty of frauds, thereby dsgracing themselves
and humiliating this country But they have
been pursued with relentless vigOr there is
every reason to suppose that they will be
severely punished and the general statement
that Republican carpet bag officials are plum
dering the revenues and exploiting the colonial
theory is an obvious and vicious falsehood.
AS for the clear implication that the Repub-
liCan party is not merely keeping but intends to
keep the government Of Cuba from its people,
which is the real essence of the platform decla-
ration the fact Is known of all men that the
Administration has been faithfully and in the
most practical manner fitting the Cuban people
for independence by assigning to them larger
and larger share of control of local affairs by
establishing schools facilitating the processes
Of justice and inculcating knowledge and appre-
citation of the fundamental conditions essential
to public health and industrial prosperity
There has been from the first no excuse for
suspecting the United States of duplictv nv
reason of any act or utterance on the part of
the Administration or any of it's supporters
and in suggesting the contrary the Kansas CITY
Convention was both false and foolish But
now, in complete refutatiOn OF its malicious
pretence, comes the official announcement that
the War Department has issued an order for n
general election in Cuba on the third Saturday
of September for the choice of delegates to n
Constitutional Convention to he held in Havana
on the first Monday Of November.
This means that the Cuban people are directed
TO undertake the work of framing and adoptine
a government Of their own Within two wears
therefore, after the close of the war the United
States gives practical expression 10 the pur
pose which the Republican Administration has
steadily proclaimed and which, so far as cir
cumstances would permit, its acts have signi-
fed The order for Constitutional Convention
has come before it was commonly expected
and there Is not unlikely to be a somewhat
general feeling that II may have come too soon
But however that may be, it will hereafter re-
quire extreme audacity the part of Demo
cratic orators and newspapers 10 preach from
the Cuban text which the Convention fabri-
Gated for their use. Doubtless II was designed
to be favorite count In the imperiallst indict