Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1901-03-14
Firm az to Cuba.

Inst at the close or MS auniiniS1 80
| this homeless President has gwen sin ].
euIar exhibition Of the real nrmness =, -,
his character and of the wise anu go
considered determination OF ms purposes.
r was Cuba for which the United states
wont to war with Spain. Partially OUT
~ d;strust Of the President at tnat Tine
| Congress made an ill-considered pieoge
that Cuba should be free ane inoepen,
dent The president in 1893 opposed
that pledge, and now in 1901 people see
that he was right
The country, however, has not 1aiieo
TO meet the Cuban situation in an honest
shirt. The letter of the Teller pieoge
| is to be kept, but the Cuban people nave
to be taught the great fundamental prin-
chile of American policy, that the spirit
of the republic is liberty and not Incense
or loot.
The President, without any hesitation
declared that as Congress had made the
nledge of independence so Congress must
determine the time when the American
1 nrotectorate should cease. He did not
/ hesitate to say that he would call Con-
! eress in special session If necessary 70
determine this grave question. Flnaily,
at his suggestion and practically under
| his direction, a series of conditions has
been drawn up and has been passed by
Congress which must be met by Cuba be-
! fore that island obtains it's freedom.
These conditions, dictated by the Pres
| ident, retain in the United States a wise
supervision over the affairs of Cuba, TO
be exercised only so far as becomes nee
essary for the protection of life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness in the ISL
and and for the protection Of the infant
republic itself from the rapacity OF old
| and INSCRIPTIONS empires.
The conditions imposed by Congress at
| the suggestion Of the President permit
the American eagle to hover over the ISL
and almost in perpetuity, guarding It
against outside foes and protecting 1t
| against itself. No European warship Will
| seize the custom houses of Cuba and no
impecunious Cuban patriots will loot the
| rich merchants of Havana. The capital
Of the island will not be permitted to be-
come breeding place for pestilence and
| the navy Of the United States will find
home for years to come in Cuban waters.
| Now, too, comes a strong, manly and
honest civil policy for the Philippine
Islands. Those far away lands, inhabit-
| ed by scores Of different tribes and sep
| arated from each other by great bodies
| of water and from this country by 10000
miles Of ocean, necessarily demand civil
institutions adapted to the place and the
people.
| The Taft commission already has begun
| the work Of ciyilizing the Filipinos, ac-
| cording to the American standards, and
| William Mckinley expects to organize
| civil government which will be so elastic
as to adjust itself readily to the needs
| of the islands, so strong as to command
their respect, and SO essentially free as
to command their love.
New Army Authorized.
| Likewise at the close Of his first admin
istration two great problems were met
and solved without any disturbance to
the body polite. The special taxes for
| the conduct Of the war have been cut
down, so that those which were particu-
| larly burdensOme, more especially all
those which were borne by the common
or poorer people, have been completely
repealed. The war revenue act has left
in it only such taxes as might well apply
to the internal revenue system in the
most piping times Of peace.
Then, too, a regular army of 100000
men, four times as large as that which
was permitted at the beginning Of his
administration, has been put into the
hands of William Mckinley. To this man
without backbone, as they said four years
| ago, the American people, through their
| Congress, have granted the wonderful
discretion involved in deciding of his own
volition whether the army shall be $4,000
| men or 100000 men. The latter figure,
| Of course, is expected for the present, but
! it depends upon him and him alone to de-
| eide when the reduction to half the num-
Der shall take place.
The new army is a thing of which an
| American may be proud, and the COM
| mander-in-chief is an old volunteer him
self, who had backbone enough to 90
through the most terrible war the world
has ever known, but who four years ago
was supposed to be devoid of a spinal
column.
So stands William Mckinley at the
threshold of his second administration Of
four years, every pledge redeemed, every
awkward situation bravely met and wise
ly mastered, cool, well poised, popular
honest, suave, but masterful, a man who
yields only to have his every way in the
end. If this man, the first President Of
the new century, has no backbone, then
are we invertebrate animals.
Aided by the experience he has acauir-
ed and the popular support he enjoys,
President Mckinley will accomplish more
in the future than in the past He is only
81 years old. He has unusual capacity
for work, and he will use that capacity
for the public good ungrudgingly during
the next four years. Then he will leave
the White House to take his place in his
tory among the American Presidents who
are remembered.
Cheese 1t.