The Richmond palladium. (Richmond, Ind.) 1906-1907, 1906-09-16
NAVAL VESSELS TO
CARRY OFFICIALS
Secretaries Taft and Bacon
Will Go to Cuba in a Form
liable Array.
ARRANGEMENTS ARE MADE
THE MARIETTA ARRIVES AT GLEN
FUEGES TO PROTECT THE SU-
GAR PLANTATIONS ROoSE-
VELT'S LETTER.
Publishers Press1

N2SllE SCOn, sept. 1o.-Secretary OF
War Taft and Acting Secretary OF
State Bacon arrived here after their
momentcus conference with President
Roosevelt al Oyster Bay AT this con
ference the decision was reached that
Secretaries Taft and Bacon should
proceed to Cuba and investigate the
situation there. 1t is certain that q
naval vessel will be used to take the
cabinet officials to Havana Prepare.
tons for the trip have been com,
pleted.
dispatch was received from Com.
mander Fulham of the Marietta stat
ing that a force had been landed from
that ship at Cienfuegos to protect SUI
gar plantations which were threat.
ened A cablegram also was received
at the state department from Mr.. At
kins, one of the owners of the Con.
stancia estate, near Cienfuegos, In
which he says he received a cable
gram from Cienfuegos announcing
that insurgents raided Soledad, taking
horses, and that the Marietta forces
had arrived in Cienfuegos. He says
information does not confirm press
dispatches as to the destruction of SUI
gar plantations.
From dispatches received from Mr..
Sleeper, charge of the American lega-
ton at Havana, it appears that the ex-
tent of damage to American property
near Cienfuegos had been exaggerat-
ed. Mr.. Sleeper says he has received
a contradiction of the report that the
Huatey estate had been destroyed.
And thus far, he says, he has not been
able to confirm the report that the
Constancia estate building has been
buned.
Presidents Letter.
Senior Quesada, Cuban minister to
the United States, received an import
ant letter from President Roosevelt.
1t is a plea to Cuba to realize her re.
sponsibility as governing repub.
lie and to restore peace in the island.
Her attention is called in no uncer-
tain language to the responsibility
which the United States bears to the
island and the certainty that such re-
sponsibility will necessarily be exer-
cised should peace not be preserved
The president says in the letter that
he has certain information that the
peace of the island is menaced and
that American property has been de-
stroyed. The president says:
Il solemnly adjure all Cuban patri
OTIS to band together, to sink all differ
ences and personal ambitions and to
remember that the only way that they
L \ <~f !,
republic is to prevent the necessity of
outside interference by rescuing it
from the anarchy of civil war. |
earnestly hope that this word of adj
Duration of mine will be acted upon,
and if SO acted upon Cuba's perma-
nent independence, her permanent
success as a republic, are assured.
Under the treaty with your govern
ment I, as president of the United
States, have a duty in this matter
which can not shirk. The third arti-
Gle of that treaty explicitly confers
upon the United States the right to
intervene for the maintenance in
Cuba of a government adequate for
the protection of life, property and in
dividual liberty The treaty confer
ring this right is the supreme law of
the land. and furnishes me with the
right and means of fulfilling the obli-
cation that | am under to protect
American interests. The information
at hand shows that the social bonds
throughout the island have been SO
relaxed that life, property and indi-
vidual liberty are no longer safe. l
have received authentic information
of injury to and destruction of Amer
lean property. 1t is in my judgment
imperative for the sake of Cuba that
there shall be an immediate cessation
of hostilities and some arrangement
which will secure the permanent paci-
fcation of the island.
'I am sending to Havana the secre-
tary OF war, Mr.. Taft, and the assist
ant secretary of state, Mr.. Bacon, as
Che special representatives of this
government, who will render such aid
as is possible toward these ends
bad hoped that Mr.. Root, the secre-
sary OF state, could have stopped in
Havana on his return from South
America, but the seeming in1minence
Of the crisis forbids further delay"