New-York tribune., 1900-07-28
FOREIGN RELATIONS OF CUBA.

Somebody appears to have discovered another
mares nest prodigious and portentous A
wicked imperialistic plot against the indepen-
dence and integrity of Cuba is disclosed. In
some esoteric fashion 1t has leaked out. prob
ably through some third assistant deputy scrub
woman of the State Department. that the
United States Government has designs upon
the foreign relations of Cuba. 1t is going to
give the island self-government in domestic
affairs as soon as it wants it and shows fitness
for 1t. Of that there is no doubt But the bale
full, sinister and lethal purpose OF this Govern
ment is to maintain certain supervision over
the islands foreign relations, probably to the
extent of preventing it from making dlscrimi-
mating tariffs against this country, from enter
ing into offensive and defensive alliances with
European Powers and from transferring it's
sovereignty to an alien Power and making itself
possible base of hostile operations against this
country. Wherefore the tOCsin is sounded, and
the friends of liberty are rallied TO prevent the
consummation of such hideous iniquity.
1t is well, however, to bear in mind, before
too much red fire is burned, that this country
two years ago fought a costly war with Spain
over Cuba. The grounds of complaint against
Spain were several, but there were none among
them more pertinent and forceful than this
that under Spanish rule Cuba was a constant
source of annoyance and menace to this coun-
try and our commercial and other relations
were kept in an unsatisfactory condition We
fought the war and won it. And the logical re-
suit is. and must be, the rightlng of the wrongs
of which we had complained. Cuba must no
longer be a source of annoyance and menace to
us, and the satisfactory state of our CONNER
cal and other relations with the island must be
assured. This country does not fight wars for
for MI Of 6Ohti
That after the war it should permit its rela-
tions with Cuba to become as unsatisfactory as
they were before is simply unthinkable-save to
the perspicaclous discoverer of mares nests
We may go a little further than that. and say
that however we may have been committed to
some theory of gaining nothing in Cuba as
result of the war, we most assuredly are not
on any imaginable ground, obligated to re-
nounce and relinquish anything. We are not
that is to say, called upon to make Cuba any
more independent OF the United States than IT
was before the war and while It was under
Spanish rule For three-quarters Of a century
before the the United States exercised a
virtual protectorate over Cuba which was
tacitly recognized by Spain and respected by all
Powers. The fixed and imperative principle
was laid down in the first quarter of the CEN
tury, and always afterward consistently main
tanned. that Cuba should not pass into the
hands of any other Power 1t must remain in
the possession Of Spain, or become an auton-
omous republic, or come to the United States
That principle was not abrogated by the war
The United States has no mind to let the work
of three-quarters of a century Of guardianship
be undone. 1t will not after the war regard
the foreign relations OF Cuba with any less in
terest or with any less authority than it did be-
fore. And we are not aware that any secret has
ever been made of that most obvious and most
reasonable fact