El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1901-03-02

SPECIAL l. he f1efdlu
WASHINGTON, D. C., Feb. "a
The extra session is still in the air,
Mr.. Mckinley has iridescent dreams
of empire 1 understand from good au-
tboritv that of the Commoner Eat
least il ought to be good authority on
the line of reasoning which maze
Towser a good coon dog but some
neryers. kink in his personality leads
him 10 try and shove on the Whoie
Tesnonsibility. for insular affairs, lock,
stock and barrel, on some other Fellow.
And congress is not yearn1ng TO De the
other fellow. The older congressional
hands are grumbling and don't want
to come back after the fourth OF March,
but the president has served notlce
that unless the whole body of leaders
protests too energetically, he means 10
issue the call for an extra session.
Senators Spooner and Platt (Connec-
ticut) are hustling more than any
body else to dodge the issue and they
are trying to formulate Legislation
which will obviate the necessity OF the
extra session
han situation are complex. The Gu
hans are adamantine in their notion
that they want a completely independ-
ent government, provided Win army
navy foreign representation ana all
the other things that have OFFICES ana
salaries attached. There IS an I'LL
meose body of patriots willing to sac
rif,ce their private affairs for the good
of their country and the emoluments
of public place and there are not
enough corresponding places to go
around. With Yankee suZera1nty
there can be no embassies to LONDON
Paris, Berlin, Madrid. Constantinopie,
Pekin. Fee: Borribooia, Cha or any
other old place-which would lnh1ct
lar on a lot of saddle-colored patriots
So they demand permission to take
neck of sulpher and go off to estabnsn
a little paradise of their own Inc
foreign consuls at Havana nave not
been backward IN nursing this amDltlon.
There is a coy little bunch OF bonds,
called the "Cuban-Spanish war debt,
amounting to a face value or $ooo'-
OOO 600 or $500 900 900 held all over
Europe. and more money could be
bluffed out of independent Cuba than
out of Uncle Sam
Military Collection of Bonds.
There are good precedents for militia
~ collection of semi-worthless bonds,
and il would be extremely convenient
for Spain to discover that the bulk OF
these insecurities were held IN otner
countries. That is the old trick that
took the English, French and Spanish
into Mexico at the time Mr.. Macmillan
the excuse under which the British are
now in Egypt-indefinitely, as the the
atrical routes say
A programme on this order is not
deemed desirable by the saner men in
congress. AS one remarked, using an
old civil war rhyme:
Il hear a lion in the lobby roar.
Say. Mr.. Speaker. shall close
the door?
Or shall / go and let him in.
Then try to get him out ag1n?
The two senators are seeking to get
a rider attached TO the army bill pro-
vidiag that the United States shall
have supervision of all treaties with
foreign countries made by the republic
of Cuba
That Cuba shall not undertake to
pay the debt incurred by Spain in her
war with Cuba prior to or after the in
Prevention of the United States.
That Cuba shall agree either to lease
or to sell to the United States such
coaling or naval stations as in the opin-
ion of the president of the United
States may be necessary to the pro-
lection of the interests of this country.
That The United States shall nave
sufficient supervision of the laws OF
Cuba relating to sanitation to protect
this country from epidemics liable to
originate there
The Language of these provisions Is
rather loose but the motive or all Is
good enough. The third would let us
take Havana itself if we desired The
presidents idea is to build substantial
barracks and quarters at each "coal1ng
or naval station" and this would
amount to an armed occupation, or
at least would give us nuclei there
for AS for the fourth, there Is lot
of meat in it but not much tnat Is
definite. 1t is the execution OF the
laws we must control. not the super
vision OF the laws" There is big
Dro-Cuban crowd in both houses and
II naturally objects. Senator Teller.
author of the original resolution, Is
particularly true is universal suffrage
clause. IF the United States under
takes 10 prevent Cuba from negotla-
ting any treaties save such as are ap-
proved here" he says, then CUBA Is
nothing more than an American de-
tendency Which is true enough
That is exactly the position in which
We want the island. We are not In need
of any more Haities at our door, and
it would be risky experiment to per-
nit unrestricted autonomy This is
particularly trus if universal suffrage
is adopted. There must be at least
100 600 negroes, in Cuba who were
born in Africa and are still unrecon-
structed. and there is a world OF other
chronological curios who are better mt
ted for the zoo than at the polls. An
army officer was telling me once
about running across some tribes OF
swamp-dwelIine negroes whose prin-
cipaI occupation in life was lodging
the Spanish and whose diet was largely
fresh and (kicking) lizards. Maceo and
Il m Iaar nj q m