Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-01-25


ness" outside of the state is one thing;
Hadley's devotion to his work is an
other
DARK FOR THE ISLANDERS.
There are several questions that are
before congress now in which Iowans
are interested, but great many peo-
pie in the Hawkeye state care more
about the Isle Of Pines discussion than
they do about joint statehood, Philip
pine tariffs or even the railroad rates.
Many Iowans have investments in the
little island off the coast of Cuba, and
some Of them as we'll as. several who
have not direct interests, have rela-I
tives and friends who have taken up
their abode on the little patch of land
and who are seriously concerned with
the question as to whether Cuba or the
United States government owns the
island.
The senate committee on foreign re-
lations will soon take up the matter of
the Isle Of Pines, and the action Of the
senate as whole depends largely on
the result of the committees investiga-
lions. According to a we'll known
Washington correspondent, Senator
Foraker Of Ohio, has prepared report
which is as yet held in confidence and
which states decisively that the Unit
ed States has never had shadow of
a claim on the island. This cores
pondent says in letter to his paper
that at present the outlook is bad for
the ratification of the Isle of Pines
treaty, which is in effect a quit claim
deed for the island to the government
OF Cuba. The writer also says:
There.is on the files of the foreign
relations committee an extract from
the Isle of Pines appeal under date
of January 8 of this year. which con-
tains declaration agreed upon by a
mass meeting held at Nueva Corona
to protest against the action of Secre-
tary Root admitting that Cuba had an
undeniable claim to the sovereignty Of
the Isle of Pines.
The declaration of this mass meet
ing has been printed in circular form
and circulated here in Washington and
elsewhere. Copies of it have been sent
to me with letters asking that i ex-
plain certain declarations made in this
printed appeal to Americans There
are SO many people in the northwest
who are honestly interested in the
welfare of the Isle of Pines, and who
have friends and relatives there that
think it is only a fair proposition to
notice the points made in this appeal
and to answer them as have been re-
quested to do in personal letters
In the first place, the statement is
sued by the mass meeting contains the
following paragraph:
The Isle of Pines was by the
treaty of Paris ceded by Spain to the
United States, such cession was ac-
cepted by the United States, and the
island thereby became territory of the
United States.
toned by name in the treaty of Paris
at all In article of that treaty is
this statement;
Spain relinquishes all claim Of
sovereignty over and title to Cuba
The Isle of Pines had been a part Of
Cuba, according to the Spanish map
for more than century. 1t was ad-
ministered as department of the
province Of Havana.
''The secretary of state. William r.
Day of Ohio, who resigned his position
to become chairman of the peace COM
mission and who is now justice Of
the United States supreme court, was
consulted by President Mckinley and
later by President Roosevelt, and ex-
pressed the opinion that this article of
the treaty of peace clearly included
the Isle of Pines. because that island
~ Of ho
and the peace commissioners never
considered 1t at all.
For that reason they did not men
ton it in the treaty and it's name does
not appear, either in that document
or in the protocol of an agreement be-
tween the United States and Spain
which was signed by Secretary Day in
Washington, August IL, 1893, months
before the ratification of the treaty Of
peace.
"In this same declaration adopted by
American residents in the Isle of
Pines, is the following paragraph:
"'The late president, William Nc
Kinley, officially declared that the Isle
CT Pines belonged to the United States,
ordered the map of the island to be
llGluuOu Ill |UiC OlllSlol map 1oSuOu NY
the department of the interior which
shows all the territory belonging to
the United States and caused an Off
cial statement to be made by the war
department that the island was Ameri-
can territory and that the public lands
therein were subject to the disposal of
congress-
$50 far as the official records go,
backed up by the personal recollection
of every one connected with the case,
this statement is an absolute and in
territorial falsehood President McKin-
ley never declared the island Ameri-
can territory and never caused the war
department to make statement that
the public lands therein we're subject
to the disposal Of congress. There is
not shred of official evidence to in
dicate this, and have never yet heard
it represented to be true by any re-
sponsible official of the United States
government
Furthermore President Mckinley told
a II, y,oyco,, tbo+ tho Ic1a ~ I,