Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-12-18
Taft Reports on Cuban situa-
ton and Says Instructions
Must Cease
PEACE WILL BE MAINTAINED
Insurrectionary Troubles Must End or
United States Will Take and Main
tain Possession = Peace Commission
Gives Full History Of Operations in
the Republic.

Washington, Dec. 1s.-That the Unit
ed States will crush any further re-
belions in Cuba by force of arms, no
matter what may be the cost, is the as
sertion made in the report of the Am
erican peace commission, composed of
Secretary of War Taft and Assistant
Secretary of State Bacon.
''If the insurrectionary habit per-
sists,' says the report, 'if again the
Cubans divide into armed forces, the
strong hand of our government will
have to be imposed at whatever cost
to life and property, and permanent
peace should then certainly ensue, be-
cause it would be of our own keeping"
This strong language is very plain in
Its assertion that the United States will
not only crush any further attempts at
fevolts. but will maintain peace in the
island with armed force.
The report is part of that submit
ted by Secretary Taft and is directed
to President Roosevelt The report
on the Cuban situation is signed by
Messrs. Taft and Bacon. 1t goes into
every detail of the call from Cuba for
intervention and the occupation of the
island by American troops when dam
ger OF an outbreak seemed nigh. The
report contains all of the correspond
ence and cablegrams between the sec
rotary of state. the consul at Havana.
PRESIDENT Roosevelt and Secretary
TAFT. The report says in part:
Mr.. President: We have the honor
hereby to submit to you a report of
what was done by US under your di-
rection In assisting to bring about
peace in Cuba between the time when
we left Oyster Bay. the evening of Sep
TENDER IA, after having received your
letter to Senior Quesada, and October
IL. When we left Havana after the pro-
Vlslohal government of the republic of
Cuba, in the meantime established un-
DER the 'Platt amendment, had been.
by your direction, turned over to Gov
ernor Magoon.
We reached Havana Wednesday
morning, September 10, by the United
States steamship Des Moines. We went
TO the palace and met President Palma
with Secretary O'Farrill We said to
President Palma that we had no other
mandate or instructions than those
contained in your letter to Senior Que
sada; that we regarded ourselves as in
termed1arles and peace commissioners,
but did not wish to undertake any ne
gotiahons with rebels in arms until
we had the permission of President
Palma as the head of the constituted
government, and asked him with whom
We should conduct our negotiations.
He said that he thought it more con-
venient to negotiate between the two
political parties, the moderates and the
liberals, and he referred us to Mendez
Capote vice president, as the head of
the moderate party, and Senator AL
fredo Zayas as the head of the liberal
party.
We We're making our investigations
under pressure. With $4,000 men in
arms living on the country freed from
the ordinary restrictions of law depre-
dations were inevitably occurring in
every town and every country district
where insurrectos quartered them
selves. The danger to large sugar mills
and warehouses. especially those be-
longing to foreigners and Americans,
was impressed ON us by most urgent
appeals for protection. which we could
not give, and called for as great speed
as possible on our part in finding out
the facts and reaching a conclusion.
BY the course pursued we We're able to
obtain a good understanding.
cit was said that the arrival of the
Denver and the landing of the marines
prevented any movement of the rebels
to enter the city. What the fact is in
this regard we are not definitely in
formed Before we left the United
States you had directed formidable
fleet to assemble in Havana, SO that
within a few days after our arrival
there were three battle ships and four
or five cruisers in the harbor of that
city, while one or two others were in
other important ports of the islands.
The whole force was under the senior
captain, Captain Couden of the Louis
lama and he was made subject to our
orders He would have then been able
to land and had it been necessary to
protect the city, upward of 5000 blue
Jackets and marines.
1.-THE result of the conferences and of
the efforts which We're made zealously
by many to avoid intervention and the
establishment of a provisional govern
ment and the evident impossibility of
reaching an agreement that would be
satisfactory to all seemed to have made
our action in establishing the provi-
sional government one in which all
parties rejoiced. The liberal party had
wished to avoid it. but were glad to
have it brought about in such a way
that it could be charged to the moder-
ate party and on a basis which recog-
nized the justice of the complaints
which they had made. The moderate
party was always in favor of inter-
vention and was glad to have it come,
tho they had sought to escape respon-
sibility for it.
an, tho whole to s,1rO I'm the mr..