Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1902-02-14

Cuba's Need and Ours.


peal of the weak to the strong is hers.
To the eye of pity she presents NOV.
ing spectacle-tearfully imploring her
liberators not to become her destroyers.
But if we could believe this mornings
Washington dispatches, we should
think our own national plight more
calamitous than Cuba's. For to be
without food is more grevious than to
be devoid of honor and humanity; a
bankrupt treasury can be better en-
dured than broken promises; and beg
gary is to be preferred 10 callous greed.
And if it were true that the house of
representatives had deliberately con-
cluded to turn a deaf ear to Cuba's
plea, this nation would have brought
itself lower than Cuba ever was or can
be. She is only to be pitied; we, if the
Ways and Means Committee allows
itself to be bestridden by Oxnard and
his kind, will be justly hated and des-
pissed.
In this aspect of the matter, our need
is really greater than Cuba's. She re-
quires succor; what we appear to lack
Is honesty and manly good faith. Her
extremity is, in reality, searching
test of of our national character. Have
we the courage to face The consequent
ces of our own actions2 Can we be
fair and considerate2 Of a certain
Duke of York Mr.. Goodwin Smith has
genially observed that the 'only meri-
torious action of his life was that he
once risked it in a duel" Is such
reproach to be visited upon the United
States? We fought duel with Spain
for the rescue of Cuba. Are we now to
make her last state worse than her
first? Are we to ruin her industrially
while running ourselves morally?
These are the questins which the talk
from Washington of bad faith with
Cuba should bite into the American
conscience. Here is great question of
right and wrong. Here is an issue be-
tween light and darkness, kindness and
cruelty, honor and treachery. Yet
men would befuddle it by elaborate
tables about the amount of saccharin
in beets. They would nicely inquire
just what is the margin between hu.
man beings. absolutely dependent upon
us, and starvation! They would dis.
pute about the miserable anise and
cummin of protection. while ignoring
the weightier matters of justice and
fair dealing, and melting charity!
Really these men make our gorge rise,
who thus encase themselves in fat, and
play fast and loose with the nations
honor. We do we'll to be angry with
those so o.called representatives of a
great people who would make This
country seem to the world thing of
contempt, scorn and Kissing for all
men, and 80 under the domination of
heartless protectionists that the sting
ing words of the Roman historian
might we'll be applied to us-that
neither Orient nor Occident could glut
our creed (Quos non Oriens, non Occi.
dens satiaverit.)
Is there is real danger of such ma.
tional disgrace overtaking US, then we
say that our peril is greater than
Cuba's. She needs simply a free mar
ket; we stand in need of free men
The Ways and Means Committee is
not its own master-or fears that it is
not, It ia brow.beaten and Threatened
by men who profess to own 1t. The
whole house sits in coward expectation
wondering what the terror stricken
me- nagers will let it do. What is need
ed is the clear mind to see that when a
question of morals and of patriotism
collides with wretched question of
tariff rates, it is the latter which must
giYa way or be wrecked. 1t is not
merely a debate about projection that
is on. We are rather confronting a
great decision snch as comes once to
every man or nation. There are those
who think protection in itself a great
evil, and mother of evils. They also be-
lieve colonial system foreign growth
on our body polite, threatening all
maner of ills. And they are not sorry to
see these two evils tending to neutra'
lize each other now-our island possess
ions driving a breach in our tariff
sel6shness, and our alarmed protection
lists, repenting what they rashly did,
crying out that colonies will be the
death of them. Thus does the wrath
Of man often praise God. But over
none of these considerations do we now
pause All that we can see is the ur.
gent gesture, the pressing emergency,
of Cuba, and what we say is that there
is something before which theories are
an imperrinence and tariffs an insult,
and that if Congress goes wrong on so
clear and fundamental a question OF
common morality, it will leave us more
abjectly despicable in the eyes of the
world than Cuba can possibly be.
Happily, there is no reason to credit
the positive assertions made to-day that
the House has its face set towards this
act of national apostasy, or that, if il
has, it will be allowed to determine the
final result. This thing is not over
The enemies of Cuba and the tramplers
upon the nations honor have yet the
Senate to deal with, have yet the Presi
dent to take into the account, and will
reckon ill indeed if they leave out thu
power of an outraged and indignatt