Grand Rapids Herald-Review Newspaper, April 23, 1898, Page 6

: © ores The Hevald--Review. By E. Kiley. GRAND RAPIDS - MINNESOTA. We blame our errors on fate, but take credit for our successes ourselves. All man’s best deeds and all his Worst can be attributed to the in- fluence of woman. No wonder the stars are so bright when the astronomers are continually scouring the heavens. Weyler intimates that if he were near our president he would destroy him. The man has done so little butch- ering lately that he is wild for blood. Commodore Leiter of Chicago is ready to send a large fleet eastward whenever the, warlike enthusiasm of the country brings the price of wheat up to the proper figure. Many thoughtful persons are begin- ning to believe that 1898 is yet destin- ed to prove an epochal year in the matter of history-making wars. There is assuredly a rather solid foundation for the belief at the present moment. The civilized world is anything but peaceful in spirit or comfortable in the relations existing among its great powers. “That reminds me of a story,” said one of a group of men, looking around furtively, “as there are no ladies pres- ent.” “No, but I am,” promptly re- sponded a tall young fellow, as he turn- ed on his heel; “and you need not tell me any story that you would not tell your mother.” Hach individu courages or discourages. This ¥ hero did both. hemisphere the of birds has been tremen- In the slaughter cous, and in this country it has almost annihilated some varieties, and the ef- fect is felt by farmers in some states in the increase of injurious insects, which the birds used to eat. The fem- inine pride of ornament has wrought a fearful work, and it is gratifying to see that the movement to prevent this wholesale destruction of birds is large- ly pushed by women, who see the folly of annihilating them for hat feathers. western Lovers of orchestral music in New York find it rather difficult to raise the necessary $125,000 for a five years’ guarantee fund for a permanent or- chestra in that city. They have se- cured subscriptions for about $50,000, and there the good work halts, for some reason not apparent to the unin- itiated masses. The metropolis should not play second fiddle in this matter to Boston and Chicago, cities which have found no difficulty in sustaining per- manent orchestras of surpassing ex- cellence. An English trade journal thus re- ports concerning the wheat prospects in continental Europe: “Although the French wheat fields promise well, it is feared they are affected by rankness and weeds. Austria-Hungary is suf- fering from a plague of field mice and moles, which is spreading over the vast plains of the Leytha and Danube, The news from Russia is satisfactory, so far as the Azima wheat of 1898 is con- cerned; but the threshing of the 1897 crop indicates that the yield is very small in the provinces which have hitherto been credited with an average crop.” No city in the United States surpass- es Philadelphia in the average intelli- gence and honesty of its gitizens. No city in the United States equals Phila- delphia in the rascality of its govern- ment. Why is it that Philedal- phia instead of being among the best governed of American munici- palities, is undeniably the worst? Why is it that the city which ought to be a model is an awful example? Philadelphia has a noble company of political economists, and a grand ar- ray of philanthropists who never fail to take an active part in national af- fairs. And ail the while the looting of Philadelphia’s treasury goes on, brib- ery and corruption continue, and po- ical banking robs the widow and the fatherless. From a statement made by a Chi- cago paper, and widely copied, it ap- pears that during the last four years the annual average of murders com- mitted in the United States has ex- ceeded ten thousand. In this state- ment all cases of homicide are massed indiscriminately as ‘‘murders”;‘ but murder in the legal sense implies de- liberate malice. It is shown that of the cases reported, ninety-three were killed by insane persons, two hundred and twenty-five in defense of life or property, and forty-six hundred and thirty-eight were the result of brawls or quarrels, while twenty-six hundred and fifty-five are set down as of un- known causes. With all deductions or explanations, the record of bloodshed is a national disgrace, and may well be called alarming; but the force of facts is never strengthened by exag- geration. Nowhere in the south is such con- tempt shown for the negro as was ex- hibited for the negro who succeeded in being elected to the office of council- man in Boston, says the Atlanta Con- stitution. In that city a negro is made to feel that he is a negro. Here in the south every well behaved and respect- able negro is treated courteousiy. In Boston the negroes are shut out of the trades. In the south they are found in all the trades. Boston should her- self deal fairly with the negro before finding fault with the south’s treat- | ment of ‘him. GOES TO CONGRESS PRESIDENT M’KINLEY TRANSMITS HIS CUBAN MESSACE. ‘he Question of Cuban Affairs now in the Hands of the National Lawmakers—President Briefly Re- views the History of Cuban Insurrection—The Maine Incident Made a Prominent Feature— Cruelties of Concentration Pictured in all Its Barbarities—Armed Intervention Is Earnestly Recommended—Recognition of Independence Is Strongly Opposed—Question of Spain's Armistice Referred Without Recommendation. Washington, April 11.—The president to-day sent the following message to the congress of the United States: Obedient to the precept of the constitution which commands the president to give from time to time to congress the information of the state of the Unior, and to recommend > their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient, it becomes my duty now to address your body with resard to the grave crisis that has arisen in the re- lation of the United States to Spain by rea- son of the warfare that for more than three years has raged in the neighboring island of Cuba. I do so because of the intimate connection of the Cuban question with the state of our own Union, and the grave relation the course which it {s now incumbent upon the nation to adopt must needs bear to the traditoinal pol- fey of our government if it is to accord with the precepts laid down by the founders of the republic and religiously observed by succeed- ing administrations to the present day. ‘The present revolution is but the successor of other similar insurrections, which have cc- curred in Cuba, against the dominition of Spain, extending over a period of nearly halt @ century, each of which during its progress Yas subjected the United States to great effort and epense in enforcing its neutralit ylaws. eatsed enormous losses to the American trade and commerce, caused irritaticn, annoyance and disturbance among our citizens, and by the exercise of cruel, barberous and Uncivilized Practices of Warfare shocked the sensibilities and offended the hu- mane sympathies of our people. Since the Present revolution began in February, 1895, this country has seen the fertile domain at our threshhold ravaged by fize and sword, in the course of a struggle unequalled in the history of the island and rarely paralleled as to the number of the combatants and the bit- terness of the contest, by any revolution of modern times, where a dependent people, stri ing to be free, have been opposed by the po er of the sovereign state. Our people have beheld a once prosperous community reduced to comparative want; its commerce virtually paralyzed; its exceptional productiveness di- minished; its fields laid waste, its mills in ruins, and its people perishing by tens of thou- sands from hunger and destitution. We have found ourselves constrained in the observance of that strict neutrality which our laws enjoin, and which the law of nations commands, to police our own waters and watch our own seaports, in prevention of any unlawful act in id of the Cubans. Our trade has suffered; the capital invested by our citizens in Cuba hase been largely lost and the temper of for- bearance of our people have been so sorely tried as to been a perilous unrest among our own citizens, which has inevitably found Its expression from time to time in the national legislature, so that issues wholly external to our own body politic engross attention and stand in the way of that close devotion to domestic advancement that becomes a self- contented commonwealth whose primal maxim has been the avoidance of all foreign entangle- ments. All this must neeeds awaken and has indeed aroused the utmost concern on the part of this government, as well during my prede- cessor’'s as my own. In April, 1896, the evils from which our country suffered throvgh the Cuban war be- came so onerous that my predecessor made an effort to bring about a peace through the mediation of this government in any way that might tend to an honorable adjustment of the contest between Spain and her revolted colony, on the basis of some effective scheme of sel government for Cuba under the flag and sover- eignty of Spain. It failed through the refusal of the Spanish gevernment, then in power, to consider any form of mediation or, indeed, a plan of settlement which did not’ begin the actual submission of the insurgents to the mother country, and then only on such terms as Spain herself might see fit to grant. The war continued unabated. The resistance of the insurgents is in nowise diminished. The ef- forts of Spain were increased, both by the despatch of fresh levies to Cuba and by the addition to the horrors of the strife of A Cruel and Inhuman Phase, highly unprecedented in the moder: history of civilized christian peoples. The policy of de- vastation and concentration, inaugurated by Capt. Gen. Pando, of Oct., 1896, in the proy- ince of Pinar Del Rio, then extended to em- brace all of the island to which the power of the Spanish arms was able to reach by oc- cupation or by military operations. The peas- antry, including all dwelling in the open agri- cultural interior, were driven into the garri- son towris of insolated places held by the troops. The raising and movement of provis- fons of all kinds were interdicted. The fields were laid waste, dwellings unroofed and fired, mills destroyed, and, in short, everything that could desolate the land and render it unfit for human habitation or support was commanded by one or the other of the contending parties and executed by all the powers at thelr dis- posal. By the time the present administration took office a year ago, reconcentration, so- called, had been made effective over the’ bet- ter part of the four central and western prov- inces of Santa Clara, Matanzas, Havana and Pinar Del Rio. The agricultural population to the estimated number of three hundred thou- sand or more, were herded within three towns and the immediate vicinity, deprived of the means of support, left without shelter, and left to the most unsanitary conditions. As the scarcity of food increased with the devasta- tion of the depopulated areas of production, the situation became miserable. Month by month the death rate increased in an alarming ratio. By March, 1897, according to conservative es- timates froin official Spanish sources, the mor- tality among the reconcentrados From Starvation and the diseases thereto incidental exceeding fifty percentum of their total number. No practical relief was accorded to the destitute. The overburdened towns already suffering from the gencral dearth, could give no aid. ‘So- called zones of cultivation, established within the immediate area of effective military con- trol about the cities and fortified ‘camps proved fllusory as a remedy for the suffering. The unfortunates being for the most rart wemen and children, with aged and helpless men, enfecbled by disease and hunger, could not have tilled the soli witout tools, seed or shelter, for thelr own support or for the sup- ply of the cities. Reconcentration, adorited avowedly as a war measure in order to cut off the resourses of the insurgents, worked its pedestined result. As I said in my message of last December, it was not civilized warfare: it was extermination. The only peace it could beget was that of the wilderness and the grave. Meanwhile the ilitary situation in the island had undergone a noticeable change. The extra- ordinary activity that characterized the second year of the war, when the insurgents invaded even the hitherto unharmed fields of Pinar del Rio and carried havoo and destitution up to the walls of the city of Havana itself, had relapsed into a dogued struggle in the cen- tral and eastern provinces. The Spanish arms regained a measure of control in Pinar del Rio and parts of Havana, but, under the ex isting conditions of the rural country, without immediate improvement of their prodetive situation Even thus partially restricted, the revolutw=ists held their own, and their 'sub- mission put forward by Spain ts the essential and sole basis of peace, seemed as far distant at the outset. In this state of affairs, my administraticn found Stself confronted with The Grave Problem of Its Duty. My message of last December received the situation and detailed the steps taken with a view of relieving its acuteness and opening the way to some form of honorable settlement. The assassination of the prime minister, Cono- yas, led to a change of government in Spain. + The former edministration pledged the sub- Jugation without concession, gave place to that-of a more liberal party, committed long in advance to a policy of reform involving the wider principle of home rule for Cuba, and Puerto Rico. The overtures of this gov- ernment, made through its new envoy Gen. Woodford, and looking to an immediate and effective amelioration of the condition of the island, although not accepted to the extent of admitted mediation in any shape, were met by assurances that ‘home rule, in an advanced phase, would be forthwith offered to C ba, without waiting for the war to end, and that more humane methods should henceforth pre- vail in the conduct of hostilides. Incidentally with these declarations, the new government of Spain continued and completed the policy already begun by its predecessor of testif. ‘ing friendly regard for this nation, by releasing American citizens held under one charge or another connected with the insurrection, so that by the end of November, not a single Person entitled in any way to our national protection remained in a Spanish prison. While these negotiations were in progress, the increasing destitution of the unfortunate reconcentradoes and the alarming mortality among them claimed earnest attention. The success which had attended the limited meas- ure of relief extended to the suffering Ameri- ean citizens among them by the judicious ex- penditure through the consular Agencies of the money appropriated expressly for their succor by the joint resolution approved May 2, 1897, prompted the humane extension of a similar scheme of aid to the great body of sufferers. A suggestion was made of Suspension of Hostilities, Mt asked for by the insurgents from the gen- eral in chief, to whom it would pertain, in such case to determine the duration and con- ditions of the armistice. The propositions sub- mitted by Gen. Wocdford and the reply of the Spanish government were both in the form of brief memoranda, the text of which are before me, and are substantially the language above given. ‘The function of the Cuban parliament in the matter of “‘preparing’’ peace with the man- ner of its doing so are not expressed in the Spanish memorandum; but from Gen. Wood- ford’s explanatory reports of preliminary dis- cussions preceding the final confergice it is understood that the Spanish government stands ready to give the insular congress full powers to settle the terms of peace with the insur- gents, whether to this end was acquiesced tn by the Spanish authorities. On the 24th of December last, I caused to be issued an ap- peal to the American people, inviting con- tributions in money or in kind for the succor of the starving sufferers in Cuba, following this on the 8th of January by a similar pub- lic announcement of the formation of a cen- tral Cuban relief committee, with headquarters in New York city, composed of three members representing the’ American National Red Cross, and the religious and business elements of the community. The efforts of that com- mittee have been untiring, and accomplished much. Arrangements for free transportation to Cuba have greatly aided the charitable work. The president of the American Red Cross and the representatives of other con- tributory organizations have generously visit- ed Cuba and co-operated with the consul gen- eral and the local authorities to make ef- fective distribution of the relief collected through the efforts of the central committee. Nearly $200,000 in money and supplies has al- ready reached the sufferers, and more is forth- coming. The supplies are admitted duty free, and transportation to the interior has been arranged so that the relief. at first necessarily confined to Havana and the larger cities, is now extending through most {f not all of ‘the towns where suffering exists. Thousands of lives have already been saved. ‘The necessity for a change in the condition of the reconcentrados is recognized by the Spanish government. Within a fewedays past, the orders of Gen. Weyler have been revoked, the reconcentrados are, it is sald, to be per- mitted to return to their homes and ailed to resume the self supporting pursuits of peace; public works have been ordered to give them employment and a sum of $600,000 has been appropriated for their relief. The war in Cuba is of such a nature that short of subjugation or extermination a final miii- tary victory for either side seems impyactica- ble. The alternative lies in the physical ex- haustion of the one or the other party or per- haps of both, a condition which in effect ended the ten years’ war by the truce of Zanjohn. The prospect of such a protraction and con- clusion of the present strife is a contingency hardly to be contemplated with equanimity bv the civilized world and least of ail by the United States, affected and injured as we are, deeply and intimately by its very exist- ence. Realizing this it appears to be my duty in a sipirit of true friendliness, no less to Spain than to the Cubans who have so much to lose by the prolongation of the struggle, to seek to bring about an immediate termination of the war. Armistice Proposed. To this end I submitted on the 27th ultimo, as a result of much representation and corre- spondence, throught the United States minister at Madrid, propositions to the Spanish govern- ment looking to an armistice until Oct. 1, for the promulgation of peace. In addition, I asked the immediate revocation of the order of reconcentration, so as to permit the reople to return to thelr farms and the needy to be relieve. with provisions and supplies from the United States, operating with the Spanish authorities ,so' as to afford ful relief. The reply of the Spanish cabinet was received en the night of the 3ist ultimo. It offers as the means to bring about peace in Cuba to confide the preparation tkezeot to the insular depart- pent, Inasmuch as the concurrence of that body ‘would be necessary to reach a firal result, it being, however, understood that the powers reserved ty the constitution to the central gov- ernment are not lessened or diminished. As the Cntan parliament does not meet until the fourth of May next, the Spanish government would not object for its nrrt to accezt at cr.ce a suspension of hostilities if asked by the insurgents from the general-in-chief, to whom it would pertain in such case to dete mine the duration and conditions of the armi: tice. The propositions submitted by Gen. Wood- ford and the reply of the Spanish government were both in the form of brief memorandas, the texts of which are before me, and are substantially in the language above given. The function of the Cuban parliament in the mat- ter of ‘‘preparirg’’ peace and the matter of its doing so are not expressed in the Spanish memorandum; but from Gen. Woodford’s ex- planatory reports of preliminary discussions precedirg the final conference it is understood that the Spanish government stands ready to give the insular congress full powers to settl the terms of peace with the insurgents, whet! er by direct negotiation or Indirectly by means of_legislation does net apnear. ‘With this last overture in the direction of fmmediate peace and its disappointing recep- tion by Spain the executive was brought to the end of his effort. In my annual message of December last I said: “Of the untried measures there re- main: Recognition of the insurgents as bel- ligerants; recognition of the independence of Cuba: neutral intervention to end the war, by imposing a rational compromise between the contestants and intervention in favor of one or the other party. I speak not of forcible annexation, for that cannot be thought of. That, bv our code of morality, Would Be Criminal Aggression. ‘Thereupon I reviewed ‘these alternatives in the light of President Grant’-measured words, uttered in 1875, when, after seven years’ of sanguinary, destructive and cruel ‘barbarities in Cuba, he reached the conclusior that the recognition of the independence of Cuba was Ampracticable and indefensible, and that the recognition of belligerence was not warranted by the facts, according to the test of public law. I commented especially upon the latter aspect of the question, pointing out the in- ecnvenlence and positive dangers of a recogn! tion of belligerency which, while adding to the already onerous burdens ‘of neutrality within our own jurisdiction, could not in any way extend our influence or effective offices in the territory of hostilities. Nothing has since oc- curred to change my view in this regard, and I recognize as fully now as then that the issuance of a proclamation of neutrality, by which process the so-called recognition of bel- ligerency is published, could of itself and un- attended by other action, accomplish nothing toward the one .end for which we labor—the instant pacification of Cuba and the cessation of the misery that afflicts the island. Turning to the question of recognition at this time, the independence of the present insurgent gov- ernment in Cuba, we find safe precedents in our history from an early day. They are well summed up in President Jackson's message to congress, Dec. 21, 183, on the subject of the Tecognition of the independence of Texas. He said: “In all the contests that have arisen out of the revolutions of France, out of the disputes relating to the crews of Portugal and Spain, out cf the separation of the American posses- sions of both from the European governments, and out of the numerous and constantly oc- curring struggles for dominion in Spanish America so wisely consistent with our just principles has been the action of our govern- ment that we have under the most critical circumstances avoided all censure, and en- countered no other evil than that produced by a transient estrangement of good will in those against whom we have been, by force of evi- dence, compelled to decide. It has thus made known to the world that the uniform policy and practice of the United States is to avoid all interference in disputes which merely re- late to the internal government of other na- tions, and eventually to recognize the author- ity of the prevailing party without reference to our particular interests or views, or to the merits of the original controversy. * * * But on this, as every other trying occasion, safety is to be found in a rigid adherence to principle. “In the contest between Spain and the re- volted colonies we stood aloof and waited not only until the ability of the new states to protect themselves was fully established, but until the danger of their being again subju- gated had entirely passed away. Then, and not until then, were they recognized. Such was our course in regard to Mexico he: + * * It is true that with regard to Te: the civil authority of Mexico has been expelled, its invading enemy defeated, the chief of the republic had himself been captured, and all present power to control the newly-organized government of Texas annihilated within its confines. But, on the other hand, there is in ce, at least, an immense disparity of phyateal | The Mex- physical force on the side of Texas. ican republic, under another execut! ing its forces under a new leader, and ménac- ing a fresh invasion to recover its lost do- minion. “Upon the issue of this threatened invasion the independence of Texas may be considered as suspended, and were there nothing peculiar in the situation of the United States and ‘Texas, our acknowledgment of its independence at such a crisis could scarcely be regarded as consistent with that prudent reserve with which we have hitherto held ourselves bound to treat all similar questions.’” Recognitien of Independence. Thereupon Andrew Jackson proceeded to con- sider the risk that there might be imputed to the United States’ motives of selfish interests in view of the former claim of our part to the territory of Texas and of the avowed pur- pose of the Texans in seeking recognition of Independence as an incident to the incorpora- tion of Texas in the union; concluding thus: “Prudence, therefore, seems to dictate that we should still stand aloof and maintain our present attitude, if not until Mexico itself, or one of the great foreign powers shall recog- nize the independence of the new government, ‘at least until the lapse of time or the course of events shall have proved beyond cavil or dispute the ability of the people of that coun- try to maintain their separate sovereignty and to uphold the government constituted by them. Neither of the contending parties can justly complain of this course. By pursu'ng it, we fre but carrying out the long cstabiished policy of our government, a policy which has secured to us respect and influence abroad and inspired confidence at home.” ‘These are the words of the resolute and patriotic Jackson. They are evidence that the United States in addition to the test imzosed by public law as the condition of the recoz- nition of the independence by a neutral state, to-wit: that the revolted state shall constitute in fact a body politic, having a goverment in substar.ce es well as in name, composed of the clements of stability and forming de facto “if left to itself a state among the nations reasonably capable of discharging the duties of a state,” has imposed for its own goverance in dealing with cases like these further con- dition that the reccenition of independent state- hood is not due to a revolted denendency until the danger of its being again subjugated py the parent state has entirely passed awo; The extreme test was in fact applied in case of Texas. The congress to whom President Jackson referred the question as one purely leading. ‘ “Purely Leading to War.” and therefore a proper subject for ‘previous understanding with that body by whom war can alone be declared and by whom all the provisions for sustaining its perils must be furnished,” left the matter of the recognition of Texas to the decision of the executive, pro- viding merely for the sending of a diplomatic agreement when the president should be satis- fied that the Republic of Texas had become “an independent state.” It was so recognized by President Van Buren, who commissioned a charge d'affaires March 7, 1837, after Mexico had abandoned an attempt to reconquer the Texan territory and when there was at the time no bona fide contest going on between the insurgent province and its former sover- eign. I said in my message of December last: “It ts to be seriously considered whether the Cuban insurrection possesses beyond dispute the attributes of statehood which alone can demand the recognition of belligerency in its fav The same requirement must certainly be no less-seriously considered when the grav- er issue of recognizing independence is in question for no less positive test can be ap~ plied to the greater act than to the lesser; while on the other hand the influences and consequences of the struggle upon the internal policy of the recognizing a staie, which form important factors when the recognition cf pelligerency is concerned are secondary is not rightly eliminable factors when the real question is whether the sommunity claiming recognition is or is not independent beyond peradventure. Nor from he standpoint of ex- pedience do I think it would be wise or pru- dent for this government to recoguz2 at the present time the ind:pend>ice » the So-Called Cuban Gevernment. Such recognition is not necessary in order to enable the United States to intervene and pacify the island. To commit this country now to the recogaition of any part secular gov- ernment in Cuba might subject us to embar- rassing ccnditions of international obligatich towards the organization <o recognized. In case of intervention our conduct would be sub- ject to the approval or disapproval of such government: we would be required to submit to its direction and to assume to it the mere relation of a friendly ally. When ‘t shall ap- pear hereafter that there is within the island @ government capable of performing the duties ani discharging the functions of a separate nation, and having, as a matter of fact, the proper forms and attributes of nationality, suca government can be promptly and readily rec- ognized, and the relation of and interests of the United States with such nation adjusted. ‘There remain the alternative forms of inter- vention to end the war, either as an impartial neutral by imposing a rational compromise ve- tween the contestants or as the active ally of the one party or the other. ‘As to the first It is not to be forgotten that during the last few months the relation of the ‘United States has virtually been one of friend- ly intervention in many ways, each not cf iteelt conclusive, but all tending to the exer- tion of a potential influence toward an ulti- mate pacific result, just and honorable to all interests concerned. The spirit of all our Nts hitherto has been an earnest, unselfish desire for peace and prosperity in Cuba, untarnished py differences between us and Spain, and un- stained bv 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 hu- manity and following many historical prece- dents where neighboring states have interfered to check the hopeless sacrifice of life by inter- necene conflicts beyond their borders, is jasti- fiahle on rational grounds. It involves, however, hostile constraint upon one of the parties to the contest as well to enforce a truce as to guide the eventual rettlement. ‘Th: grounds for such intervention may be briefly summarized as follows: First—In the cause of humanity and to put an end to the barbarities, blcodshed, starva- tion and horrible’ miseries now existing there, and which the parties to the conflict are elther uneble or unwilling to rtop or mitigate. It is no answer to say this is all in another country, pelcrging to another nation, and is therefore none of our business. It isespecially our duty for it is right at our door. Second—We owe it to our citizens in Cuba to afford them that protection, indemnity for life ard property which no government there can or will afford, and in the end to terminate the conditions that deprive them of legal pro~ tection. ‘Third—The right to intervene may be justi- fied by the very sazious injury to the com~ mesce, trade and business of our people and by the wanton destruction of property and devestation of the island. Fourth—And which is of the utmost {tm- pertance. The present condition of affairs in Cuba is a constant menace te our people, ana entails upon this government an end-mous ex- pense. With such a conflict waged for years on an island so near “is and with which our people have such trade and business relations when the lives and liberty of our .citizens are in constant danger, and their property destroyed and themselves ruined—where our trading vesscls.are Mable to seizure and ar- rest at ows very door by war vessels of other nations, the expeditions of filibustering that we are powerless to prevent altogether, and the frritating questions and entanglements thus arising—all these and others that I need not mention with the resulting strained felatioas are a constant menace to our peace, and com- pel us to keep on a semi-war footing with a nation with which we are at peace. Wreck of the Maine. ‘These elements of danger and disorder al- ready pointed out have been strikingly illus- trated by a tragic event which has deeply and justly moved the American people. I have already transmitted to congress the- report of the naval court of inquiry on the destruction of the battleship ‘Maine’ in the harbor of Havana during the night of the 15th of Feb- ruary. The destruction of that noble vessel has filled the nation’s heart with inex- pressibl horror. ‘two hundred and fifty-nine brave sailors and marines and two officers of our navy were reposing in the fancied security of a friendiy harbor, when hurled to death— grief and want brought to their homes and sorrow to the nation. The naval court of inquiry, which is need- less to say, commands unqualified confidence of the government, was unanimous in its con- clusion that the destruction of the Maine was caused by an exterior explosion, that of a sub- marine mine. It did not assume to place the responsibility. That remains to be fixed. In any event the destruction of the Maine, by whatever exterior cause, is a patent and impressive proof of a state of things in Cuba that is intolerable. That condition is thus shown to be such that the Spanish govern- ment cannot assure safety and security to a vessel of the American navy in the/ harbor of Havana, on a mission of peace and right- fully there. Further referring in this connection to recent diplomatic correspondence, a dispatch from our minister to Spain, of the 26th ultimo, con- tained the statement that the Spanish minis- ter for foreign affairs assured him positively that Spain will do all that the highest honor and justice require in the matter of the Maine. Arbitration Proposed. The reply above referred to, of the 31st ul- timo, also contuined an expression of the read- iness of Spain to submit to an arbitration all the differences which can arise in this matter, which is subsequently explained by the note of the Spanish minister at Washington of the 10th inst., as follows: “As to the question of fact which springs from the diversity of views between the rep- resentatives of the American and Spanish boards, Spain proposes that that fact be ascer- tained by an impartial investigation by ex: perts, which decision Spain accepts in ad- vance."” To this 1 made no reply. President Grant, in 1875, after discussing the phases of the contest as it then appeared, and its hopeless and apparent indefinite prolonga- tion, said: “an such event, I am of opinion that other nations will be compelled to assume the re- sponsibility which devolves upon them, and to seriously consider the only remaining meas- ures possible—mediation and igtervention. Owing , perhaps, to the large expanse of water separating the island from the peninsula, the contending parties appear to have within them- selves no depository of common confidence, to suggest wisdom when passion and excitement have their sway, and assume the part of peace- maker. In this view, in the earlier days of the contest the gcod offices of the United States as a mediator were tendered in good faith, without any selfish purposes, in the interest of humanity and in sincere friendship for both parties, but were at the time declined by Spain, with the declaration, nevertheless, that at a future time they would be indispensable. No intimation has been received that, in the opinion of Spain, that time has been reached. And yet the strife continues with all its dread horrors and all its injuries to the interests of the United States and of other nations. Each party seems quite capable of working great injury and damage to the other, as well as to all the relations and interests dependent on the existence of peace in the island; but they seem incapable of reaching any adjustment, and both have thus far failed of achieving any success whereby one party shall possess and control the island to the exclusion of the other. Under the circumstances, the agency of others, either by mediation or by intervention, seems to be the only alternative which must, sooner or later, be invoked for the termination of the strife.”” Cleveland Quoted. In the last annual message of my imme- diate predecessor during the pending strug- gle, it was said: “When the inability of Spain to deal suc- cessfully with the insurrection has become manifest, and it is demonstrated that her sovereignty is extinct in Cuba for all purposes of its rightful existence and when a hopeless struggle for its re-establishment has degen- erated into a strife which means nothing more than the ‘seless sacrifice of human life and the utter destruction of the very subject mat- ter of the conflict, a situation will be pre- sented in which our obligations to the sover- eignty of Spain will be superseded by higher obligations, which we can hardly hestitate to recognize and discharge.” In my annual message to congress, December last, speaking on this question, I said: ‘The near future will be demonstrate wheth- er the indispensable condition of a righteous peace, just alike to the Cubans and to Spain, as well as equitable to all our interest, so intimately involved in the welfare of Cuba, is likely to be attained. Ia not, the exigency of further and other action by the United States will remain to be taken. When that time comes that action will be determined in the line of indisputable right and duty. It will be faced without misgiving.or hesitancy in the light of the obligation this government owes to itself, to the people who have confided to it the protection of their interests and honor, and to humanity. “Sure of the right, keeping from all af- fense ourselves, actuated only by upright and patriotic considerations, moved neither by passion nor selfishness, the government will continue its watchful care over the rights and property of American citizens and will abate none of its efforts to bring about by peaceful agencies a peace which shall be honorable and enduring. If it shall hereafter appear to be a duty imposed by’ our obligations to ourselves, to civilization and humanity to intervene with force, it shall be without fault on our part, and only because the. necessity for such action will be so clear as to com~- mand the support and approval of the civilized ‘world.”’ ‘The long trial has proved that the object for which Spain has wage¢ the war cannot be at- tained. 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 en- forced pacification of Cuba. In the name of humanity, in the name of civilization, in be- half of endangered American interests which give us the right and the duty to speak and to act. The War in Cuba Must Stop. In view of these facts and tlese considera- tions, I ask the congress to authorize and em- powa: the president to take measures to se- cure a full and complete termination of hos- tilities between the government of Spain and the people of Cuba, and to secure in the island the establishment of a stable government, cap- able of maintaining order and observing: its international obligations, ensvring peace and tranquility and the security of its citizens; as well as our own, and to use the militacy and naval forces of the United States as may be necessary for these purposes. ‘And in the interest of humanity and to aid in preserving the lives of the starving people of the island, I recommend that the distribution of fcod and ‘supplies be continued and that an appropriation made out of the public treasury to supplement the charity of our citizens. ‘The issue is row with the congress. It is a solemn responsibility. I have «xhausted every effcrt to relieve the intolerable condition of affsirs which is at our doors. I am prepared to execute every obligation imposed upon me by the corstitution and the law 1 await your action. Yesterday and since the preparation of the foregoing message, information was received by me that the latest decree of the queen regent of Spain directed Gen. Blanco, in order to prepare and facilitate peace, to proclaim a suspension of hostilities, the duration of which Pas not yet been communicated to me. This act, with every other pertinent consideration, will, I am sure, have your just and careful attention in the solema deliberations upon which you are about to enter. If this measure obtains a successful result, then our aspira- tions as a Christian, peace-loving people will be renlized. If it fails it will be only another Justification for our contemplated action. —William McKinley, Executive Mansion April 11, 1898. ‘point Gen. Lee major general of epluny TROOPS WILL MOVE MOST WARLIKE STEP THAT HAS YET BEEN TAKEN. Army Department Issues Orders for the Concentration of Troops im the South—Chickamauga, Tampa, New Orleans and Mobile the Points at Which the Troops Wilb Rendesvons—Orders Issued) by Gen, Miles With Directionf/That They Be Put Into Effect @s Soom as Possible. Washington, April 17. — Decidedly the most warlike step taken by the de- partment in preparing for the possi- bility of an encounter with Spain was inaugurated yesterday when orders were issued for the concentration at four points in the South of the six reg- imerts of cavalry, twenty-two regi- ments of infantry and the light bat- teries of five regiments of artillery. At Chickamauga there will be six reg- iments of cavalry and the light bat- teries of five regiments of artillery; at New Orleans eight regiments of in- fantry; at Tampa, seven regiments of infantry, and at ments of infantr Since the civil war no such proportion of the army has been mobilized and the movement itself is the best evidence of the gray- ity of the situaticn as looked upon by the president and his advisers, The determination to rendezvous the troops in the South, where they can be a cilmated to the conditions of a more tropical climate’ has been under con- sideration by the president and his cabinet for some time. It was not until yesterday, however, that the president, in view of the enormous ex- pense which will be entailed, felt jus- tified in taking this step. When Sec- Alger returned from the cabinet meeting he at once called into confe ence Gen. Miles and Adjt. Gen. Cor- bin and acquainted them with,the re- sult of the cabinet’s deliberations. There was Hurried Consultation in which the quartermaster general, who has charge of the transportation of the troops, the commissary general, who looks after their subsistence and representatives in Washington of vari- ous railroads running to the South, participated. The orders, as finally given, contemplate the movement of troops to the places indicated as fol- lows: To Chickamauga battlefield, the First, Second, Third, Sixth, Ninth and Tenth regiments of cavalry and the light batteries of five regiments of ar- tillery. To New Orleans, the Fi Seventh, Eighth, Twelfth, Sixteenth. Eighteenth, Twenty-third and Twent fourth regiments of infantry. To Mo- bile, the Second, Third, Tenth, Elev? enth, Nineteenth, ‘Twentieth, Twenty) second regiments of infantry. To ‘Tampa, the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Ninth, Thirteenth, Seventeenth and Twenty- first 1egiments of infantry. The heavy batteries of artillery in each of the five regiments mentioned will remain at their present posts. The two new regiments of artillery re- cently authorized by congress have not been recruited to their full strength and are not well equipped with horses and other Necessary Equipments for service, and, therefore, are not in- cluded in the orders. The department has so distributed the twenty-two reg- iments of infantry at convenient place: on the gulf that they will be acce ble for transportation to Cuba. Pro- posals have been invited from steam- ship companies for chartering vessels to tke government for this work, Instructions to the commanding of- ficers of the regiments ordered to move were sent out with directions that they be put into effect as soon as pos- sible. It is the confident expectation of the officials that the movements in some places will begin at onee. The railroad facilities, the officials say, are more than ample to meet the demands of the occasion, and no trouble will be experienced in mobilizing this large body of men at the places designated within a reasonably short space of time. The command of the army will de- yolve upon Maj. Gen. Nelson A. Miles, who is now at the head of the military branch of the government. His temporary headquarters will prob- — ably be at Atlanta, where Gen. Gra- | ham, who has command of the de- partment of the Gulf, is now locate: Gen, Miles’ permanent headquarters will depend entirely upon the exigen- ~ cies of the situation and the develop- ments of the campaign. Mobile seven regi- as He will leave / the city soon for his new duties. } pest a LEE TO COMMAND. —_= : Me Will Lead the Virginia Volun- | teers in Case of War. New York, April 17.—The president has decided to give Consut General Lee the command of the Virginia vol- unteers in the event that hostilities break out between this country and Spain, says the Washington cor- respondent of the World. This decis- ion was reached after a conference with Secretary Alger and a number of other military men. Owing to Gen. Lee’s great knowledge of the topo- graphical conditions of the Island of Cuba it is more than likely that his. command will be given orders to re- | { turn to Havana at the head of an in-i+ vading army, and doubtless he will be* ; allowed to go upon the outbreak of) hostilities. A member of the senate; proposes to introduce a special act under which the president may ap: teers, gs i Spanish Newspapers 3Varned. Madrid, April 17. — An Wificial uote) reminds the newspapers that it is their, duty to publish nothing concer | the movement of the troops or. the navy, and appeals to the patriotisin oft the press in this matter to “prevent | the enemy from obtaining infogna- tion.” The navy fund has alréady | reached 3,000,000 pesetas. El Correc announces: ‘The pope is still laboring for peace and it is believed that ls efforts will not be sterile, especially a many of the insurgents in Cuva aré submitting.” ik tape!