It is necessary to quote still further from President McKinley's message, a message so fine, so just and so true, that we are sure it will go down into historypraised by all future historians, as it well deserves to be.
He says:
"The spirit of all our acts hitherto has been an earnest, unselfish desire for peace and prosperity in Cuba, untarnished by differences between us and Spain, and unstained by the blood of American citizens.
"The forcible intervention of the United States as a neutral to stop the war, according to the large dictates of humanity and following many historical precedents where neighboring states have interfered to check the hopeless sacrifice of life by internecine conflicts beyond their borders, is justifiable on rational grounds. It involves, however, hostile constraint upon both parties to the contest, as well as to enforce a truce as to guide the eventual settlement. The grounds for such intervention may be briefly summarized as follows:
"1. In the cause of humanity and to put an end to the barbarities, bloodshed, starvation and horrible miseries now existing there, and which the parties to the conflict are either unable or unwilling to stop or mitigate. It is no answer to say that this is all in another country, belonging to another nation, and is, therefore, none of our business. It is specially our duty, for it is right at our doors.
"2. We owe to our citizens in Cuba to afford them that protection and indemnity for life and property which no government there can or will afford, and to that end to terminate the conditions that deprive them of local protection.
"3. The right to intervene may be justified by thevery serious injury to the commerce, trade and business interest of our people, and by the wanton destruction of property and devastation of the island.
"4. And, what is of the utmost importance, the present condition of affairs in Cuba is a constant menace to our peace and entails upon this government an enormous expense. With such a conflict waged for years in an island so near us, and with which our people have such trade and business relations—when the lives and liberty of our citizens are in constant dread, and their property destroyed and themselves ruined—where our trading-vessels are liable to seizure and are seized at our very door, by warships of a foreign nation, the expeditious of filibustering that we are powerless to prevent altogether, and the irritating questions and entanglements thus arising—all these and others that I need not mention, with the resulting strained relations, are a constant menace to our peace, and compel us to keep on a semi-war footing with a nation with which we are at peace."
In his message, the President also gives utterance to these notable and memorable words:
"The long trial has proved that the object for which Spain wages war cannot be attained.
"The fire of insurrection may flame or may smoulder with varying seasons, but it has not been, and it is plain that it cannot be, extinguished by present methods. The only hope of relief and repose from a condition which cannot longer be endured is the enforced pacification of Cuba.
"In the name of humanity, in the name of civilization, in behalf of endangered American interests, which give us the right and the duty to speak and to act, the war in Cuba must stop."
The President then refers the whole matter to Congress to decide as that body may think best.
A somewhat acrimonious debate, of several days duration followed, chiefly over the side issue of the recognition of the Republic of Cuba.
On April 19, 1898, by the way, the date of the first battle of the Revolution at Concord, Massachusetts, the following joint resolution was agreed upon.
"Joint resolution for the recognition of the independence of the people of Cuba, demanding that the government of Spain relinquish its authority and government in the Island of Cuba, and withdraw its land and naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters, and directing the President of the United States to use the land and naval forces of the United States to carry these resolutions into effect.
"Whereas, the abhorrent conditions which have existed for more than three years in the Island of Cuba, so near our own borders, have shocked the moral sense of the people of the United States, have been a disgrace to Christian civilization, culminating, as they have, in the destruction of a United States battleship, with two hundred and sixty-six of its officers and crew, while on a friendly visit in the harbor of Havana, and cannot longer be endured, as has been set forth by the President of the United States in his message to Congress ofApril 11, 1898, upon which the action of Congress was invited; therefore,
"Resolved, By the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
"1. That the people of the Island of Cuba are, and of right ought to be, free and independent.
"2. That it is the duty of the United States to demand, and the Government of the United States does hereby demand, that the Government of Spain at once relinquish its authority and government in the Island of Cuba and withdraw its land and naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters.
"3. That the President of the United States be, and he hereby is, directed and empowered to use the entire land and naval forces of the United States, and to call into the actual service of the United States the militia of the several States to such extent as may be necessary to carry these resolutions into effect.
"4. That the United States hereby disclaims any disposition or intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction or control over said island except for the pacification thereof, and asserts its determination, when that is accomplished, to leave the government and control of the island to its people."
The President set his seal of approval upon these resolutions the following day, and the same day an ultimatum was sent to Spain, practically the same as what has been quoted above.
It was also stated that it was the President's duty to request an answer within forty-eight hours.
Within forty-eight hours the ultimatum was rejected by the Spanish Cortes.
The ministers and representatives of the two countries were immediately recalled from their various posts, and a state of warfare proclaimed.
The United States now stood pledged to aid and succor agonized Cuba, to strike the shackles from off her bruised and bleeding limbs, and raise her to a position which her valor had long deserved, amongst the free and independent nations of the world.
Cuba lies in the northern portion of the torrid zone, and immediately south of Florida. From Key West to the nearest point on the Cuban coast, the distance in 86 miles.
The form of Cuba is an irregular crescent, with a large number of bays or indentations. The coast line is about 2,200 miles, exclusive of the indentations; or, if we include the latter, nearly 7,000 miles.
The island is about 760 miles long. Its breadth varies from 127 miles at a point some fifty miles west of Santiago to 28 miles from Havana to the south.
Its area is 43,314 square miles, which includes the Isle of Pines and several smaller islands.
Cuba is intersected by a range of mountains, more or less broken, which extends across the entire island, from east to west, and from which the rivers flow to the sea. This range is called the Sierra del Cobra, and it includes the Pico de Turginuo, with an altitude of 7,670 feet, the highest point on the whole island. There are other ranges, and the eastern portion of the island is particularly hilly. We must not forget the famous Pan of Matanzas which received its name from its resemblance to a loaf of sugar. It is 1,300 feet high, and has been of great service to mariners in enabling them to get their bearings.
Naturally the rivers are small, but they are numerous. The principal one, and the only one that can properly be called navigable, is the Canto. Schooners ascend this for about sixty miles. It rises in the Sierra del Cobre, and empties upon the south coast, a few miles from Manzanillo. Mineral springs abound, and their medicinal qualities are in high repute.
Of lakes there are only a few, and most of these lie in the marsh lands.
The Scientific American says:
"The country may be broadly divided into the region of the plains the rolling uplands and the forest lands. The lowlands form a practically continuous belt around the island, and in them are to be found the great sugar plantations. Above these and on the lower slopes are found the grazing and farm lands, upon, which, among other things, is raised the famous Havana tobacco. The remainder of the island, especially the eastern portion is covered with a dense forest growth."
The vegetation of Cuba is of the most luxuriant and beautiful description. The forests are full of a large variety of trees, almost all of them most valuable for mechanical purposes. Some of them are almost as hard as iron. One of these is called the quiebra hacha (the axe breaker). There are other woods such as the jucaro, which are indestructible, even under water. Still others are lignum vitae, ebony, rosewood, mahogany, cedar, lancewood and many other species. There are over fifty varieties of palm, and the orange and lemon trees are indigenous. Although the forests are so dense so to bealmost impenetrable, there are no wild animals in them larger than the wild dogs, which closely resemble wolves both in appearance and habits.
The fruits are those natural to the tropics, but only oranges, pineapples and bananas are raised for exportation.
The land is not suited to the cultivation of cereals, and there is no flour mill on the island. At one time, the coffee plantations were in a flourishing condition, but the recent outbreak has largely interfered with this industry.
By far the chief industries in the island are the cultivation of sugar and tobacco, both of which are famous the world over.
The soil of Cuba is simply a marvel of richness, practically unrivalled in any other part of the world. Except occasionally in the case of tobacco, fertilizers are not used. Crops have been grown on the same ground without an atom of fertilization for over a hundred years. This superb soil gives the Cuban sugar planter an enormous advantage over his competitors in other countries. For instance, in Jamaica, one to two hogsheads of sugar is considered a good yield, but in Cuba, three hogsheads are the average.
The introduction of modern machinery, which is very expensive, has done much to drive out the small planters, and the tax imposed by the Spanish government almost trebled the cost to the planter.
In times of peace, the sugar production of Cuba averaged a million of tons a year, but this is nothing likewhat the island might be made to yield under a decent government and proper enterprise. It has been estimated that if all the land suitable to the growth of sugar cane were devoted to that industry, Cuba might supply the entire western hemisphere with sugar.
Mr. Gollan, the British consul general, says:
"Until a very recent date the manufacture of sugar and the growing of the cane in Cuba were extremely profitable undertakings, and the reasons for their prosperity may be stated as:
"1. The excellence of the climate and the fertility of the soil, which allow of large crops of good cane. The rainfall, about 50 inches, is so distributed that irrigation is not a necessity, though it would in many cases be advisable.
"2. The great movement toward the centralization of the estates which took place in the early eighties, planters having understood the value of large sugar houses and overcome their difficulty in this way.
"3. The proximity of the United States, affording, as it does, a cash market for the sugar."
To show how the sugar trade has been injured by the Cuban uprising, the following figures are of interest:
The decrease in 1895-96 was 779,043 tons, equivalent to 77.574 per cent.
While the tobacco crop of some portions of Cuba is unsurpassed, notably that of Vuelta Alajo and of Mayari, it is of excellent quality all over the island, the poorest of it being quite as good as that of Hayti. The entire crop is estimated at $10,000,000 annually. Yet, owing to the extortions of the government, which loaded it with restrictions and exactions of every description, the tobacco industry has always been an uncertain one. It is said that the tobacco growers, disgusted with their treatment, have always been in favor of the revolutionists.
The mineral riches of the island have never been exploited to any considerable extent and yet it is known that they are by no means unimportant. Gold and silver exist. Some specimens of the finest gold have been obtained, but at an expense of time and labor that could not remunerate the parties engaged in the enterprise. There are copper mines near Santiago of large extent and very rich in ore. There are also several iron mines. Numerous deposits of manganese have been found in the Sierra Maestra range. As nearly all the manganese used in the United States comes from the Black Sea, it is thought that these mines will prove very valuable, when the conditions for operating them are more favorable.Bituminous coal is very abundant. Marble, jasper and slate are also to be found in many parts of the island.
The trade of the United States with Cuba since 1891 is given as follows by the bureau of statistics, Treasury Department:
The commerce of Spain with Cuba since 1891, the figures up to 1895 being taken from a compilation by the department of agriculture, and those for 1896 from a British foreign office report was:
The railways are insufficient and wretchedly managed, while the roads are in a deplorable condition, sometimes, in wet weather, being almost impassible.
In regard to the future commercial prosperity ofCuba, Mr. Hyatt, who until recently was our consul at Santiago, gives the following opinion:
"Railroads and other highways, improved machinery and more modern methods of doing business are among the wants of Cuba; and with the onward march of civilization these will doubtless be hers in the near future. Cuba, like other tropical and semi-tropical countries, is not given to manufacturing; her people would rather sell the products of the soil and mines and buy manufactured goods. The possibilities of the island are great, while the probabilities remain an unsolved problem."
When the tropical position of Cuba is taken into consideration, it may be stated that its climate is generally mild. In fact, we can say that it is one of the best, if not the very best, of the countries lying within the tropics; and, during the dry season, it is unsurpassable anywhere. In this season, the days are delightful, and the nights, with the clear, transparent air, and the sky spangled with myriads of stars (many of which, notably the constellation known as "The Southern Cross," are not visible in more northern countries), are veritable dreams of beauty.
The heat and cold are never extreme, and there is only a slight difference in the temperature all the year round. The warmest month at Havana is July, with an average temperature of 82 degrees Fahrenheit, and the coldest is January, with an average temperature of 70 degrees.
The rainy season lasts from the first of May till thefirst of October. The popular impression is that it rains pretty nearly all the time during this season, but this is a mistake. On an average there are not more than ten rainy days a month, and the rain generally comes in the afternoon. The temperature of Havana in the summer is but little higher than that of New Orleans, while its rainfall is infinitely less. Yellow fever exists in the coast cities all the year round, but it rarely makes its appearance in the interior. The western part of the island is as habitable as is Ohio.
It is certain that the effects of the climate upon the Spanish soldiers has been disastrous, but much of the mortality among them have been due not to the climate alone, but to a bad system of hygiene, wretched diet, unsuitable clothing and a criminal disregard on the part of the military authorities of the health of the men under their control.
The Medical Record, in an article on the subject, says:
"There is no evading the fact, however, that the landing of a large body of more or less raw, unacclimatized men in the lowlands of a reputed unhealthy coast at the beginning of the rainy season is an experiment that must from the very nature of things be attended with much risk."
But the danger to our own soldiers must also from the very nature of things, be much less than it has proved to the Spaniards. Our army is composed of a much higher class of men intellectually, and besides that, they will be infinitely better taken care of.
The next point to be considered is the population of Cuba. There has been no official census taken since 1887. Then the entire population was estimated at 1,631,687. Of these about one-fifth were natives of Spain, 10,500 were whites of foreign blood, 485,187 were free negroes, about 50,000 were Chinese and the rest native Cubans.
It may be interesting to note the percentage of whites and blacks, and to see how the negro element has been decreasing both relatively and absolutely during late years. At the present time the negroes are in all probability not more than one-fourth of the entire population.
The island is divided into six political divisions, each province taking the name of its capital city: Havana, Matanzas, Santa Clara, Puerto Principe, Santiago de Cuba and Pinar del Rio.
The figures in the following table give the population by provinces, as well as the density of population (number of inhabitants per square kilometer.)
In Cuba, under Spanish rule, the Roman Catholic is the only religion tolerated by the government. There are no Protestant or Jewish places of worship. A decree promulgated in Madrid in 1892 declares that, while a person who should comply with all other requirements might be permitted to remain on the island, he would not be allowed to advance doctrines at variance with those of the established church. As Catholicism is a state religion, its maintenance is charged to the revenues of the island, and amounts to something like $400,000 a year.
Education in Cuba is, or has been, at a very low ebb. That is due, as many other things are, to the wretched, short-sighted policy of Spain, the country which has never completely emerged from the darkness of barbarism. She was afraid to give education to the Cubans, thinking that she could better dominate them in their ignorance. There is a royal university in Havana, and a collegiate institute in each of the six provinces, the number of students in all amounting to nearly threethousand, but these come almost without exception from the ranks of the well-to-do.
Less than one out of every forty-five of the children in Cuba attend the public schools. There was a farcical law passed in 1880, making education compulsory. How could such a law be of any effect when there was neither the ability nor the desire to provide school-houses and instructors? Now let us take a brief glance at some of the chief cities of Cuba.
Havana, the principal and capital city of the island, is situated on the west side of the bay of Havana, on a peninsula of level land of limestone formation.
It is the seat of the general government and captain-generalcy, superior court of Havana (audencia,) general direction of finance, naval station, arsenal, observatory, diocese of the bishopric and the residence of all the administrative officers of the island (civil, military, maritime, judicial and economic).
Its strategic position at the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico has aptly given to the city the name of the Key of the Gulf; and a symbolic key is emblazoned in its coat-of-arms. The harbor, the entrance to which is narrow, is wide and deep, and a thousand ships could easily ride there at anchor.
It has always been supposed to be strongly fortified, its chief defences being Morro Castle, the Cabana, the Castillo del Principe, Fort Atares, the Punta and the Reina Battery.
The population of Havana, from the last official estimate, is about 220,000.
Before the present war, Havana was one of the most charming places in the world for the tourist to visit, more especially during the winter months.
There is scarcely a city in Europe which, to the American seemed so foreign as Havana. The whole appearance of the place, its manners and customs, were all totally different to what the American had been accustomed.
The streets are so narrow that vehicles by law are obliged to pass down one street and up another, while the sidewalks are not more than two feet wide and hollowed down in the centre by the constant trampling of feet. This applies to the city proper, for, outside the walls, there are many broad and beautiful avenues. The streets are very noisy and, as a rule, excessively unclean.
The houses, many of them palaces, wonderfully beautiful within, but situated on dark and dirty alleys, are all built about a central courtway. There are no fireplaces anywhere, nor a window shielded with glass in the whole city. The windows have iron bars, and within those of the first story is the inevitable row of American rocking chairs. Through these bars the Cuban lover interviews his inamorata. It would be the height of indecorum for him to approach nearer, to seek to speak with her within the walls of her own home, even in the presence of her father and mother.
Cows are driven about the streets and milked in front of your own door, when you desire the lacteal fluid. This custom is, at all events, a safeguard against adulteration.
Ladies do not go into the shops to make purchases, but all goods are brought out to them as they sit in their volantes.
By the way, the volante (flyer) is the national carriage and no other, practically, is used in the country. It consists of a two seated vehicle, slung low down by leather straps from the axle of two large wheels, and it has shafts fifteen feet long. The horse in the shafts is led by a postillion, whose horse is harnessed on the other side of the shafts in the same manner. The carriage is extremely comfortable to travel in, and the height of the wheels and their distance apart prevent all danger of turning over, although the roads in the country are for the most part, mere tracks through fields and open land. Ox carts and pack mules are used for conveying goods in the interior of the island outside of the meagre railway lines.
Havana has some beautiful public parks and some really fine statues, chiefly those of Spain's former rulers.
Its principal theatre, the Tacon, is celebrated throughout the world for its size and beauty. In regard to theatres, there is one peculiar custom in Havana: By the payment of a certain sum, beyond the price of admission, one is allowed to go behind the scenes between the acts. This privilege has caused great annoyance to many eminent artists.
The cathedral of Havana is rather imposing in architecture, although it is badly situated, but it is very interesting because there is an urn within its walls whichis said, and with a large semblance of truth, to contain the bones of Columbus.
Space does not permit us to tell of all the charms of Havana, but, suffice it to say, that it was and will be again, under far happier conditions too, one of the most delightful cities in the world.
The city of Cuba, next in commercial importance to Havana, is Matanzas. It is beautifully situated on the north coast, about seventy miles from Havana, and has a population of about fifty thousand. The climate is fine, and Matanzas is considered the healthiest city on the island. With proper drainage (something that has hitherto been almost unknown in Cuba as are all other sanitary arrangements) yellow fever and malaria would be almost unknown. If it should ever come under American enterprise, the city would develop into a superb pleasure resort and be a fatal rival to the Florida towns. We cannot forbear to mention the Caves of Bellamar. These are not far from Matanzas and are subterranean caverns, of which there are a number in Cuba. The walls and roofs are covered with stalactites of every conceivable hue and shape, and forming pictures of beauty far beyond anything conceived of, even in the Arabian Nights.
The most modern city of importance is Cienfuegos (as its name signifies, the City of a Hundred Fires). It has a population of about twenty-six thousand and its harbor is one of the best on the southern coast, with a depth of 27 feet at the anchorage, and from 14 to 16 feet at the wharves.
Cardenas is a seaport on the north coast about 135 miles east of Havana. Its population is about the same as Cienfuegos. In the rainy season, its climate is distinctly bad and its sanitary conditions worse. It has some large manufactories, and carries on a flourishing trade.
Santiago de Cuba, on the southeastern coast, is the second city of size in Cuba (60,000 inhabitants), and the one on which all American eyes have been fixed, for it is there that our brave Sampson bottled up Cervera's illusive fleet, and on its suburbs a fierce battle was fought, July 1, 2 and 3, between the American troops under General Shafter and the Spanish army under General Linares, resulting in the defeat of the latter and the subsequent surrender of the city to the United States' forces on Sunday, July 17.
It is very difficult, by the way, to find the entrance to the harbor of Santiago. Approaching it from the sea, nothing is seen but lofty mountains. When quite near, two mountains seem to suddenly part, and a channel only 180 yards wide, but of good depth, is revealed.
It is the oldest city in America, many years older than St. Augustine, having been founded by Velasquez in 1514, and is exceedingly quaint and mediaeval.
Its chief fortifications are the Castillo of La Socapa and the Morro Castle, the largest and most picturesque of the three of that name. The latter was built about 1640, and is a fine specimen of the feudal "donjon keep" with battlemented walls, moats, drawbridge, portcullis and all the other paraphernalia of the days ofromance. The harbor itself, around which so much interest has clustered, is naturally one of the finest in the world, but no pains has been taken to improve it, the funds appropriated for that purpose having been stolen by the Spanish engineers and officials.
Santiago is Spanish for St. James, who is the special patron saint of Spain, on account of a myth that he once made a journey to that country.
Cuba, in short, is one of the most beautiful and fertile countries on the face of the globe, but man, in the shape of brutal Spain, has done everything he could, to ruin the gifts Nature so lavishly bestowed.
Let us hope and believe, as surely we have every reason to do, that upon the "Pearl of the Antilles," the sun of prosperity will rise, driving away the gloomy shadows of oppression, and that the dawn will be not long postponed.
It is unnecessary to refer except in a brief manner to the Spanish-American war, as the struggle is at the present time of writing only in its inception, and no one can tell how long it will last or what reverses each side may experience before peace is declared.
One thing is certain, however. The result is not problematical. It is assured. The United States will be victorious in the end, be that end near or distant, and Cuba must and shall be free.
If ever there was a war that was entered into purely from motives of humanity and with no thought whatever of conquest, it is this one. The entire people of the United States were agreed that their purpose was a holy one, and instantly the call of the President was responded to from all parts of the country. Sectional differences, such as they were, vanished like mist before the sun. There was no Easterner, no Westerner, no Northerner, no Southerner, but "Americans all."
We are proud of our army and navy, and justly so. Dewey destroyed a large fleet, without the loss of a man, a feat unprecedented in the annals of warfare, ancient or modern. Sampson bottled up Cervera's fleet in the harbor of Santiago, after the wily admiral had attempted a diplomacy which was nothing more nor lessthan absurd, and when Cervera, on the eve of the surrender of the city, attempted to escape from his self-constituted trap, his four armored cruisers and two torpedo boat destroyers were literally riddled and sunk outside the harbor by the skilful gunners of the American fleet. Hobson, in sinking the Merrimac, displayed a heroism that has never been surpassed. And on land, General Shafter's achievements have been brilliant in the extreme.
It is interesting here to examine for a moment the attitude of other countries toward us since the declaration of war with Spain.
Of course they all declared neutrality.
At first France apparently was very bitter against us, declaring that it was a war of aggression and one that was unjustified. We think we have already shown in these pages how unwarrantable such an accusation was. There was a reason for France's feeling, outside of the fact that her people, like Spain's, belong to the Latin race, and that reason was that a large proportion of Spanish bonds was held in France. Even the best of us do not bear with equanimity anything which depletes our pockets. But it was not long before a great change took place both in press and public and a wave of French sympathy turned toward us. This is as it should be and was inevitable. There could be no lasting rancor between us and our sister republic, the country who gave us Lafayette and presented us with the Statue of Liberty.
The press of Germany has unquestionably said somevery harsh things. But we are confident that the feeling is confined to the press and does not represent the mass of the people. We do know that it is in no way representative of the German government, which from the very beginning has showed itself most friendly to us. The ties between Germany and the United States are too strong ever to be severed, with the thousands and thousands of Germans in this country who rank among our very best citizens.
Russia, who from time immemorial has been our friend and given us her moral support in all our troubles, has treated us with the utmost cordiality.
But the pleasantest thing of all has been the attitude of Great Britain, our once mother country. She has stood by us through thick and thin, hurling defiance in the face of the world in her championship of us, and rejoicing in our victories almost as if they were her own. This has done more to bring the two great English-speaking nations together than anything else could possibly have done, and will probably have far reaching consequences in the future.
The Marquis of Lansdowne, the British Secretary of State of War, in a recent speech, thus expressed himself:
"There could be no more inspiring ideal than an understanding between two nations sprung from the same race and having so many common interests, nations which, together, are predominant in the world's commerce and industry.
"Is there anything preposterous in the hope thatthese two nations should be found—I will not say in a hard and fast alliance of offense and defense, but closely connected in their diplomacy, absolutely frank and unreserved in their international councils, and ready wherever the affairs of the world are threatened with disturbance to throw their influence into the same scale?
"Depend upon it, these are no mere idle dreams or hazy aspirations. The change which has come over the sentiment of each country toward the other during the last year or two is almost immeasurable. One can scarcely believe they are the same United States with whom, only two years ago, we were on the verge of a serious quarrel.
"The change is not an ephemeral understanding between diplomatists, but a genuine desire of the two peoples to be friends, and therefore it cannot be laughed out of existence by the sort of comments we have lately heard."
There is a poem which we cannot forbear to quote here, it is so fine in itself and so expressive of the existing situation. The author is Richard Mansfield, the eminent actor:
War is unquestionably a terrible thing. As General Sherman put it, "war is hell." But there are other terrible and yet necessary things, also, such as the operations of surgery and the infliction of the death penalty.
War is justifiable, when waged, as the present one unquestionably is, from purely unselfish motives, simply from a determination to rescue a people whose sufferingshad become unbearable to them and to the lookers-on. The United States, by its action, has set a lesson for the rest of the world, which the latter will not be slow to learn and for which future generations will bless the name of America.
Nobly are we following out the precepts of our forefathers, who declared in one of the most magnificent documents ever framed:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness."
We fought for these principles, in our own interests, a century and a quarter ago; in the interests of others, we are fighting for them to-day.
A question which has been universally asked is this: Can the Cubans, if they obtain freedom, govern themselves, or will not a free Cuba become a second Hayti with all the horrors of that island?
To this our reply is: Most emphatically Cuba will be able to govern herself; not in the beginning, perhaps,where mistakes must of necessity be made, but most certainly in the end.
The Cuban leaders are men of high intelligence and lofty purposes, and they know what reforms must be instituted. Some one has said that "love of liberty is the surest guarantee of representative government."
Surely these men have shown their love of liberty in the fullest degree and have proved themselves in every way fitted for self-government.
The Cubans, strange as the statement may seem to those who have studied the matter only in a cursory way, are not a people who love trouble. Though revolution after revolution has occurred in the island, the Cubans have never taken up arms until every peaceful means of redress had been resorted to.
It has been feared that the negro element would be a disturbing influence, but we can see little or no reason for this dread. The same thing was said of the emancipation of the slaves in our own South, but certainly, taken altogether, the behavior of the colored race in the United States, since the Civil War, has been most praiseworthy.
A Frenchman, Baron Antomarchi, who is naturally unprejudiced, says:
"When the time for the settlement of the Cuban question shall have come it will be an affair of give and take between the whites and the negroes, and if the negro does not succeed in convincing the white man that he is entitled to a full measure of civil authority, a measure which by reason of his numerical strength hewill have a right, under a republican government, to exact, then we may have to stand by while Cuba engages in an internal struggle important enough to cripple or, to say the least, seriously hinder, her development. Should the war come to an end and should Cuba be free to develop the riches of the land for which she is now battling, an American protectorate would prevent all dangers of race conflict. The United States would be under a moral obligation to avert disorder. Aside from all considerations of a commercial character there would be the obligation resulting from an adherence to consistency of conduct. The stand taken by the American legislators, or some of them, to say nothing of the stand taken by the American people, would make this latter obligation even still more binding.
Not until her machetes shall have been returned to their original use can Cuba develop the riches bestowed upon her by Nature. After the dawn of peace, when her sons are free to settle down to the tranquil life of the untrammeled husbandman, there will be no hunted exiles in the long grass of her savannas. When Cuba has attained the quiet calm that her younger generation has never known, she will show the world that it was not for idle brigands that Maceo died. In the shadow of the feathered cocoa palms in the deep shade of the drooping heavy leaves where Gilard dreamed of liberty, great cities shall one day loom in the misty, tropic twilight, and peace shall brood over the land that now, seamed with the graves of Cuba's heroes, awaits the murdered bodies of Cuban victims. Not until that day has comewill it be known how strong to endure torment and sorrow, how brave in time of danger, were the men who won the day for Cuban independence."
It is absolutely certain that all the natural and political ties that have bound "the Ever Faithful Isle" to the mother country have been so completely severed that it is utterly impossible they should ever be united again.
The unique banner of Cuba, with its blue and white stripes and a single star upon a red triangle, has cost more blood and treasure than any revolutionary flag known to history.
When this war is over, and Spain has learned her lesson, severe but well-deserved, and we hope salutary, then shall that flag take its place among the honored ones of other nations; then will the Cubans show their ability to prize and cherish the liberty for which the blood of their heroes has been spilled; then, under the protectorate of the United States, but as an independent republic, will Cuba, in the words of our own General Lee, emerge from the dark shadows of the past, and stand side by side with those countries who have their place in the sunlight of peace, progress and prosperity.
Oh! Cuba Libre! as Longfellow said of our own Union, so do all Americans, who are now fighting with you shoulder to shoulder, say to you:
(THE END.)