A A 1 1 6 1 7 4 Pe&rl 'utilles Noa fornia nal ty THE PEARL OF THE ANTILLES A VIEW OF THE PAST AND A GLANCE AT THE FUTURE BY FREDERIC M. NOA NEW YORK 1808 'ir.HT, i8q8 BV rRFF'FRIC If. N"A 5tx UnKkctboclttr Qtcet, *ew Berk 17 n M7> DEDICATED TO THE HEROES AND HEROINES OF AMERICAN AND CUBAN LIBERTY " 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 act, the war in Cuba must stop." CPresidem McKinley's Special Message to Congress, April ON DEPARTING FROM CUBA (1836) Pearl of the Ocean ! Brightest star of all ! Enchanting Cuba ! Stealthily, in gloom, Night shrouds thy peerless blue with darkest pall, As grief, e'en, doth my pensive soul entomb. About to start ! The busy crew, aloft, To tear me from mine own, my native land, Now hoist the sails, and soon the zephyr soft, Wafting them on, blows from thy tropic strand. Farewell, my country bright ! Thou Eden dear, Where'er I'm wrecked by tempest wild or gale, Thy gentle name shall soothe my straining ear. Alas ! alas ! How fills the swelling sail ! The anchor 's heaved ! The rocking ship aside Doth cleave the waves, and on in silence glide. (Rendered from the Spanish son- net of Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda, Cuba's greatest poetess and dramatist.) " Jamais colonie n' a ete aussi impitoyablement exploited par une mere patrie cupide et impre- voyante. " — Paul Leroy-Beaui.ieu. (De La Colonisation chez les /i?uf>lt-s moderncs. Paris : Guil- laumin et Compagnie. 1891 Pages 266-268.) " No colony has ever been as pitilessly ex- ploited by a greedy and improvident mother- country." — Paul Leroy-Beaulieu. PREFACE. IT is the purpose and endeavor of the writer to present concisely the leading events of Cuban history, and to analyze the causes which have driven the United States into war with Spain. Although an Eng- lishman by birth, he is, by adoption and in spirit, an American citizen. In the course of his career as an educator, he has come in daily contact with representatives of the Spanish-speaking races, and thus gained an insight into their charac- teristics. He was for some years prctacc. intimately acquainted with Sefior to, the present Secretary of Cuba, when the latter was Spanish >ul in Philadelphia. He knew also, a^ an intimate friend, the late Horace Mann, widow of the Massachusetts statesman. Sixty or seventy years ago, this lady lived on a Cuban plantation and witnessed the baneful effects of slavery under the rule of Spain. During the stirring events of the last few months, thoughtful persons have asked themselves questions such as the following: First, what are the causes which, for the last thirty years, have kept Cuba, more or less, in a turmoil of revolt and anarchy ? •ndly. what are the grievances <>f the Cubans? preface. xi Thirdly, what is the truth about the wrongs and outrages they have been forced to bear ? Lastly, are the United States jus- tified in resorting to war to remedy these abuses ? The author, having spent years in a close study of the history of Latin America, and having had access to sources of information not generally known, believes that he can satisfac- torily answer the questions that are agitating the public mind. He has drawn not alone from Spanish and Cuban, but also from American, British, and French authorities and records. The subject of America's relations with Spain, past and present, is so extensive that, in this little book, much must be left unsaid. The preface. mdid naval victory of Dewey at Manila opens a wide field of specu- lation as to the future status of the United States, and what part they arc to take in the settlement of the complicated problems of the Old World. The author aims merely at supplying a need required by the people, and leaves to larger works the discussion of the future interna- tional rights and obligations of the United States. F. M. Xoa. Union Springs, N. Y., July 4, 1898. THE PEARL OF THE ANTILLES. THE PEARL OF THE ANTILLES. THE distinctive characteristic of Spanish colonization is, that wherever it has been planted, the curse and blight of tyranny, super- stition, and cruelty have been felt. Twenty-five years had not passed after Columbus discovered Cuba be- fore the harmless Indians of the Is- land, unable to endure the exacting labor of the mines, languished under their taskmasters, and became virtu- ally extinct. Their protector, the benevolent and philanthropic priest, Las Casas, whom his contemporaries vilified most shamefully, suggested 2 Cbe pearl that the remnant might be saved by importing a few negroes from Africa. I [is advice was followed, and, in 1 524, the first cargo was landed in Cuba, and condemned to hopeless bondage. Thus began the iniquitous traffic in African slaves, on which corrupt offi- cials fattened, and the horrors of which filled Las Casas with such self- reproach that he died broken-hearted. As though symbolic of her future destiny, Cuba, described by Colum- bus as " the fairest land eye has ever seen," was born in the throes of tu- mult and convulsion. For two cent- uries and a half her coast cities were sacked or burned by English, French, and Dutch pirates, while some of her early governors proved, according to the Spanish-American E?uyc/o- pedia (published in Barcelona, Spain), "veritable bandits." In 1762. a Brit- ish fleet captured Havana. During the eleven months of English occu- pation, the port was thrown open to ©t tbe Snttlles. 3 the commerce of the world. The eyes of the Cubans were opened, and they could never rest content under the old regime. By a fortunate ac- cident, Spain herself came to be governed, in the latter half of the eighteenth century, by an enlightened line of French sovereigns, who did much to promote the welfare and in- dustries of their transatlantic colony. For seventy years, a splendid ship and navy yard had existed in Ha- vana, but in 1796, the monopolists of Barcelona, Cadiz, and other Spanish ports succeeded in having it closed, and one of the seeds of hatred be- tween the Spaniards and the native- born Cubans was sown. Nevertheless, so strong was the bond between Cuba and the mother- country, that she remained loyal to her during the fifteen years of insur- rection (18 10-1825) which cost Spain the loss of her vast Mexican, Cent- ral and South American possessions, 4 dbe pearl and resulted in their independence. A .1 reward for her fidelity, Ferdi- nand VII. gave Cuba the title of " The Ever-Faithful Isle." She now enjoyed two brief periods of consti- tutional government (1812-1814 and 1818-1823). During the latter, one of her most eminent sons, Francisco de Arango, secured several beneficial commercial reforms. Had the Span- ish sovereigns continued to pursue a wise and enlightened policy, the Cu- ban cataclysms of the last seventy- five years might have been averted. Unfortunately, the incompetent and worthless Ferdinand VII., unmindful of his promises, issued a decree, dated March 28, 1825, that henceforth the Island should be ruled as though it were in a perpetual state of siege, and that the Governor-General should wield the despotic and irresponsible power of a Russian czar. From that moment began the blackest night of Cuba's tyranny. — a night soon to be ©f tbe Bntilles. 5 dispelled by the glorious dawn of constitutional liberty. In 1835, tne energetic and iron Tacon became Captain-General. He erected many public buildings, but, under what has been aptly termed his " brick-and-mortar civilization," every liberal movement was sternly repressed. He enriched himself enor- mously through the slave traffic, yet his reactionary sway was not, like that of Weyler, an unmitigated curse to the people he ruled. Ar- riving in a time of chronic anarchy and political assassination, he summa- rily suppressed crime, showed favor to neither rich nor poor, and trans- ported, exiled, or executed one thou- sand persons of all ranks. Although he countenanced corruption, the American, British, and other foreign consuls of that period unanimously testify to the general good public order he maintained. Up to this time, the four hundred 6 Cbe pearl thousand free whites of Cuba, who had been remitting to Spain an annual tribute of three million dol- lars had enjoyed the right of send- ing two deputies to the Spanish Cortes at Madrid. Suddenly, on the ioth of February, 1837, this body decreed that the colony should be deprived of representation, and that, instead, special laws for its benefit were to be passed. Forty years elapsed before the mother-country, taught by the frightful experience of a sanguinary ten years' revolt, began to fulfil these promises. Meantime, the ever- deepening gloom of black slavery overshadowed the Island. To prevent its perpetu- ation, Great Britain induced Spain to sign, in 18 17, a treaty, by the terms of which the importation of slaves was prohibited, severe penal- ties against violators enacted, and a mixed international tribunal estab- lished at Havana. These provisions ©t tbe Entitles. 7 availed nothing ; they were either secretly evaded or openly defied. Governor-Generals and all other executive officials connived at the iniquitous business, and reaped from it unheard-of profits. Competent and impartial observers declare the condition of the slaves in Cuba as indescribably frightful. Mrs. Horace Mann, widow of the Massachusetts statesman, made, sixty or seventy years ago, a protracted stay on a Cuban plantation, and was so horri- fied by what she saw that she wrote a novel, Juanita, as thrilling as Uncle Toms Cabin. Still more con- vincing, because of its official nature, is the testimony of Mr. R. R. Mad- den, British Judge of the Mixed Tribunal at Havana, who published, in 1853, an instructive little book on The Island of Cuba. He tells how slavers infested the ports of Cuba, and, if perchance the cargoes should be confiscated, means would 8 Cbe pearl be found secretly to convey the " Bozals," as the newly imported slaves were called, into the interior, where they would fetch twelve hund- red dollars a head. On the planta- tions, Mr. Madden witnessed slaves literally scourged to death, and child- ren torn from their mothers. It was customary, during the sugar and tobacco crop season, which lasted about six months, for slaves to be worked every day twenty hours at a stretch, the common impression being that " four hours' sleep was sufficient for a slave." No wonder that, under such a system, not a female nor an aged negro could be found on many a plantation. In spite of such excesses and crimes against humanity, Cuba bore an outward appearance of remarkable prosperity, but, writing in 1869, La- rousse, author of the great French Encyclopedic Dictionary, likened her material progress to that obtained ©f tbe Antilles. 9 in ancient Egypt by forced labor ; and continued : " The riches of Cuba offend humanity. Far from glorify- ing the industry of men, the degrad- ing spectacle it presents is an insult to the progress of the century!" He expressed the fear that, when the Cuban negroes should rise in arms, they would spare neither the whites who were oppressors, nor the whites who were oppressed. The detract- ors of the negro race might do well to remember that they have shown a generous forgiveness, and have cheerfully fought, side by side with their white brothers, in the sacred cause of Cuban liberty. In addition to the incubus of negro slavery, the restrictive policy of the Spanish government hastened the revolution which must inevitably have occurred. Representation, and liberty of speech, conscience, and the press were denied, while illiberal laws retarded commerce and immi- io Cbe pearl gration.as no white immigrants were allowed to enter Cuba who were not either Catholics or prepared to be- come such, although Chinese coolies, virtually slaves, were freely imported under contract. Utterly unconscious of the volcano beneath her feet, Spain knew nothing of the fearful corruption, robbery, and peculation of the Captain-Gen- eral, Lerisundi, and his satellites, who sought to impose fresh burdens upon a colony drained and exhausted by overtaxation. " Such blindness and ignorance on the part of the home government," says the Spanisli- Amcricon Encyclopedia, " could not be greater ; such a mass of blunders gave great strength to the separatists, and the approaching revolution in Spain made things ripe for revolt in Cuba." And now, in 1868, the gathering storm, intensified by three centuries and a half of black slavery, burst ©f tbe antilles. n forth, with incredible fury, in an is- land equal in area to Pennsylvania. Under the consummate leadership of Mdximo Gomez, the insurrection raged, with varying success, for ten weary years. The one Spanish gen- eral, Dulce, who was inclined to con- duct the war according to civilized methods, was unceremoniously de- posed by the powerful Volunteer troops of Havana, who were com- posed of Spanish and Cuban loyalists, and was ignominiously sent back to Spain. After his departure, the war- fare degenerated into indiscriminate butchery and extermination. Far and wide, plantations were set on fire, and the wretched inhabitants reduced to the most dreadful misery. Two tragedies especially shocked the whole civilized world ; the first of them being when, in November, 1871, eight medical students of the Uni- versity of Havana, who had been previously acquitted of the charge of 12 Gbc peart having desecrated the grave of a Vol- unteer, were re-arrested, tried by a court packed by the Volunteers, and having been condemned, were shot, in the presence of fifteen thousand troops, by a detail under Capt. Wey- ler. The second tragedy, which almost produced war between Spain and the United States, and for which the former paid the latter a very large indemnity, was the well-known capture of the American vessel, the Virginias, as she was hovering, in No- vember, 1873, near Santiago de Cuba. The local governor of that place be- gan, without the formality of a trial, to execute her crew, composed of Ameri- can citizens and British subjects, and had already shot fifty-three of his vic- tims when the timely arrival of a British warship stopped the slaughter. With infinite patience, tact, and for- bearance, President Grant and his ad- visers repeatedly offered the friendly mediation of the United States and Ot tbe Antilles. 13 exhausted every diplomatic effort to bring peace to the desolated Island of Cuba. At length a brighter day dawned when, in 1877, the illustrious Marshal Martinez de Campos, who had successfully brought the civil war of Spain to a close, was sent over with large reinforcements, and received full powers to negotiate with the Cuban insurgents. " Convinced that the struggle would never be terminated by ex- termination, but rather by a spirit of conciliation and freedom, he was," writes the Spanish-American Encyclo- pedia, " the most tolerant and hu- mane of the operating generals in the bloody Ten Years' War." His broad, noble mind perceived at once where the difficulty lay, and, on the 19th of May, 1878, he wrote to Canovas del Castillo, then, as he was until his re- cent assassination, Prime Minister of Spain : " Promises which have never been 1 1 vibe pearl fulfilled, abuses of every kind, fail- ure to devote anything to the Depart- ment of the Interior, the exclusion of the natives from every branch of the government, and another series of errors, gave rise to the insurrection. The belief of the ruling powers that here there was no other method to adopt than that of terror, and that it was a question of honor not to grant reforms until not a shot should be heard, have continued it : persisting in such a course, we should never end the war, although the Island should swarm with soldiers : if we do not wish to ruin Spain, it is ne- cessary for us frankly to bestow lib- erty. I believe that, if Cuba is little fitted for independence, she deserves to be something more than a mere Spanish province, and that the horde of bad officials, all from the Penin- sula, ought not to come over ; finally, in order to bring about normal con- ditions, participation in the govern- ©f tbe Antilles. 15 ment should be given to the natives of the country." Immediately after his arrival, Mar- tinez de Campos began active opera- tions, at the same time adopting " mild measures in spite of the desire of certain elements unmindful of the duties which civilization and human- ity impose upon a regular govern- ment. Thus passions were becoming soothed, and minds prepared for peace." ' On the 10th of February, 1878, General Campos met, at El Zanj6n, near Havana, some of the insurgent leaders, and, after a brief conference, accepted articles of capitulation which were duly ratified by both sides, and which provided, among other things, that a general amnesty and pardon should be granted to all insurgents, as well as to deserters from the Span- ish army, who should lay down their 1 Spanish- American Encyclopedia, article on Martinez de Campos. 16 Che pearl arms ; that persons under trial and political prisoners, both within and outside the Island, should beset free ; thai slaves and Asiatic colonists then in the insurrectionary ranks should be granted freedom ; and that Cuba was to enjoy " the same political privileges, organic and administra- tive, possessed by the (neighboring) island of Puerto Rico" — the most important of these being the right of representation in the Spanish Cortes, of which right, for forty years, Cuba had been unjustly deprived. The Island now became rapidly pacified, in spite of a few lingering in- surrectionary movements, and during the succeeding sixteen years appeared to enjoy comparative quiet and pro- sperity. Sixty-four representatives from Cuba sat in the Cortes at Mad- rid, and, thanks to the united efforts of disinterested Cubans and Span- iards, laws were passed which gradu- ally abolished slavery (total abolition Qt tbe Antilles, n was only accomplished by 1886), in- sured a greater freedom of the press, established the right of petition, and guarded more carefully the liberty of the individual. The leading events of the present Cuban insurrection, which began three years and a half ago, being sufficiently fresh in the public mind, need not be mentioned in detail. What has astonished the civilized world is, that Spain, having, through the wise policy of Campos, secured an honorable peace, should not have learned how to deal justly by her colonists, nor to bind them in ever increasing bonds of love and affec- tion, but, on the contrary, discarding the golden opportunity of sixteen years' peace, should find herself con- fronted by an insurrection marked with such barbarity and so many tragedies as to engage her at last in a life-and-death struggle with the United States. i8 Cbe pearl During the breathing space follow- ing the peace of Zanj6n, the Cuban element took an active part in the government. The autonomist or constitutional party, being in the majority, secured considerable ame- lioration in the condition of Cuba. The spirit of the age compelled re- forms : negro slavery and its abomin- ations gradually disappeared ; and nominally greater individual freedom prevailed. But the incurable defects always inseparable from the rule of Spain quickly re-asserted themselves and almost nullified the reforms ob- tained at so great a sacrifice. Cor- ruption, extortion, and abuses of every sort flourished as of old. To realize how fearful these have been, one needs to examine carefully the debates of the Spanish Parliament ; to listen to the addresses delivered in the Ateneo, the most learned soci- ety of Madrid ; and to hear the admis- sions and scathing denunciations of ©f tbe Bntilles. 19 the Queen Regent ; of prime minis- ters and members of the Cortes belonging to all parties ; and of generals and distinguished civil of- ficers who have spent many years in Cuba. The entire civil service of the is- land has always been, with only a few honorable exceptions, rotten to the core. In an eloquent discourse, delivered, on the 19th of January, 1895, before the Ateneo, the brilliant Spanish writer, Eduardo Dolz, ex- plains the utter insecurity of the tenure of officials, who, knowing that they are liable to be recalled at any moment, engage in corrupt practices, misappropriate public funds, and seek to accumulate a fortune within the briefest time possible. No responsi- bility is exacted of these public serv- ants, and far from being punished for their misdeeds, they are fre- quently promoted to higher and more lucrative positions. He draws m XLbc pearl a dark picture of the hydra-headed ramifications of official corruption, which in the matter of customs alone has defrauded the state of $200,000,- 000 within the space of twenty-four years, — a sum very nearly sufficient to have paid off the Cuban debt, to have met current expenses, and to have promoted the general welfare and prosperity of the country. General Pando, who has seen years of hard service in Cuba, spoke, on the 22d of March, 1890, in the Span- ish House of Deputies, and bitterly inveighed against the political turpi- tude of Cuban administration. He told of General Salamanca, who, hav- ing long advocated, before the Senate at Madrid, the cause of the colony, was sent over to act as Governor- General. By tremendous exertions, and incurring the deadly enmity of powerful cliques, the latter brought a notorious forger and embezzler, Oteiza, to justice and had him con- Qt tbe Entitles. 21 demned to eighteen years' imprison- ment in chains. The effort cost Salamanca his life. Unable to cure the leprosy of political corruption, he died broken-hearted, after a brief illness. His successors could not, or would not, continue his good work. Instances might be cited of powerful criminals on whom sentence has been suspended for a dozen years. Another terrible evil of the Cuban people, is the staggering load of taxation and debt they have been compelled to bear. If it be urged that they are justly made to bear these burdens because of insurrection, how is it that the northern provinces of Spain, so frequently rebelling against the authority of Madrid, are dealt with far more leniently ? How is it that, during sixteen years of uninterrupted peace (1878-1895), the expenditures of Cuban administra- tion were $210,000,000 heavier than in the period of the exhausting Ten 32 Cbe pearl I* War ; and the taxes were iter by $150,000,000 ? Examin- ing further the report, published April 8, 1892, by M. C. Villa-Amil. Superintendent of the Treasury of Cuba, and supplemented by later data from the royal Gazette of Mad- rid, how does it happen that, in a country the size of Pennsylvania, and having a population of less than two millions, a sum ($ 1 ,400,000,000) should have been obtained by taxa- tion between 1850 and 1895, which is equal to the entire public debt of the United States? The galling nature of Cuban taxa- tion can best be grasped by examin- ing the Madrid Gaacta, the official organ and journal of the Spanish government. Thus, taking the issue of April 8, 1892, we find excessive crown dues, taxes on mines, urban and rural real estate, and tribute on commerce, arts, and professions. In addition, there are import and ex- ©f tbe Antilles. 23 port duties, imposts on transportation of merchandise, stamp taxes of every conceivable sort, lotteries, monopo- lies, charges on property for rent or sale, and other exactions too numer- ous to mention. The grand total thus raised by taxation reached $21,500,000, of which, in round numbers, little more than $450,000 was spent on education and internal improvements, 1 the rest being de- voted to expenditures to meet the Cuban debt and for the home gov- ernment of Spain (which together consumed over $10,000,000) ; war and navy departments, $6,400,000 ; civil administration and police, $3,200,- 000; cost of justice, $715,000; and the encouragement of agriculture, $568,000. Such the record in a year of uninterrupted peace. This glaring misappropriation of the taxes wrung out of the Cuban 1 Exactly what General Campos complained of in 1 878. See his letter to Canovas, already cited. Che pearl has been aggravated by unjust commercial discrimination. Thus, the duties on imports have been so arranged that many articles of textile manufacture are taxed twenty times higher when imported from foreign countries than when brought from Spain. The public debt of the Island had grown, b)- the beginning of 1895, be- fore the outbreak of the present in- surrection, to the fabulous sum of - >.ooo,ooo. It originated in 1864 through a simple issue of $3,000,000, and kept on increasing at an alarm- ing rate, although, from 1878 to June 30, 1 89 1. $115,336,304 were paid in interest and redemption. 1 The debt was incurred very largely on account of the foolish and extravagant wars which Spain chose to wage against her former dependencies of Mexico, Speed) 0! S< Castafieda, in Span- i>h Senate. June 24, 1891. See also El Globo, of Madrid, October 27, 1891. Qt tbe Bnttllee. 25 Santo Domingo, Peru, and Chili. The late Prime Minister, Canovas del Castillo, endeavored to justify placing these burdens upon Cuba by referring to the terrible losses the mother-country had suffered owing to many disastrous wars, adding that portions of the debt dated as far back as the time of Charles V. and Philip II., and that the Cubans ought to bear their share of the national obli- gations. 1 The contentions of Canovas, even if granted as correct, might have been accepted, had the Cubans not been compelled to pay more than their just proportion. But, in 1891, the total national debt of Spain and her dependencies is stated as $1,211,- 453,696. On this, the interest and sinking fund were thus apportioned between Spain and Cuba: 1 Reply of Senor D. Antonio Canovas del Cas- tillo to Senor Jorrin, Spanish Senate, January 22, 1880. 2h Cbc pearl To Spain S56,752,35S To Cuba 10,435,183 Total 67,187,538 At the same time, the population of Spain was 17,545,160, and of Cuba, 1,631,687. In other words, the mo- ther-country paid only $3.23 per capita, while the colony gave $6.39, or about double.' The apologists of Spain have said much about the admirable self-gov- ernment of Cuba, which they main- tain is superior to the home rule enjoyed by Canada. The subject deserves investigation. Immediately after the close of the Ten Years' War the Cuban element controlled the elections, and obtained, as has al- ready been shown, several important reforms. But before long matters were so manipulated that a majority 1 The Island of Cuba, by A. S. Rowan and If. M. Ramsey, p. 143, and Cuba, Justification de su Guerra f voting. The sim- ple affirmation of business firms has been sufficient to include all their employees as partners, with the right to vote subject to their masters' dic- tation. Worse yet, a commission appointed by the Governor-General revised the lists of electors. An ap- peal to the higher court (Audicncia) of a district would avail little. One thousand duly qualified liberal elect- ors of the Province of Santa Clara found, in 1892, their claims rejected " for the simple omission to state their names at the end of the docu- ment presented by the elector who headed the claim." " It will be easily understood now why on some occasions the Cuban representation in the Spanish Parlia- ment has been made up of only three deputies, and in the most favorable epochs the number of Cuban re- Of tbe Bntlllea. 29 presentatives has not exceeded six. Three deputies in a body of four hundred and thirty members ! The genuine representation of Cuba has not reached sometimes 0.96 per cent, of the total number of members of the Spanish Congress. The great majority of the Cuban deputation has always consisted of Spanish Pen- insulars. In this manner, the min- isters of ' Ultramar ' (ministers of the Colonies), whenever they have thought necessary to give an honest or decent appearance to their legisla- tive acts by an alleged majority of Cuban votes, could always command the latter, that is, the Peninsulars. " As regards the representation in the Senate, the operation has been more simple still. The qualifications required to be a Senator have proved to be an almost absolute prohibition to the Cubans. In fact, to take a seat in the higher house, it is neces- sary to have been president of that 3o Gbe pearl body or of Congress, or a minister of the crown, or a bishop, or a grandee of Spain, a lieutenant-general, a vice- admiral, ambassador, minister pleni- potentiary, counsellor of state, judge or attorney-general of the Supreme Court, of the Court of Accounts, etc. No Cuban has ever filled any of the above positions, and scarcely two or three are grandees. The only nat- ives of Cuba who can be senators are those who have been deputies in three different Congresses, or who are professors and have held for four years a university chair, provided that they have an income of $1500; or those who have a title of nobility, or have been deputies, or mayors in towns of over 20,000 inhabitants, if they have in addition an income of $4000 or pay a direct contribution of $800 to the Treasury. This will increase in one or two dozen the number of Cubans qualified to be senators. ©t tbe Bntilles. 31 " In this manner has legislative work, as far as Cuba is concerned, turned out to be a farce. The various governments have legislated for the island as they pleased. The repre- sentatives of the peninsular provinces did not even take the trouble of at- tending the sessions of the Cortes when Cuban affairs were to be dealt with ; and there was an instance when the estimates (budget) for the Great Antille were discussed in the presence of less than thirty deputies, and a single one of the ministers, the minister of 'Ultramar' (Colonies) (session of April 3, 1880). "As may be seen, the crafty policy of Spain has closed every avenue through which redress might be obtained. All the powers are centred in the government at Mad- rid and its delegates in the Colony ; and, in order to give her despotism a slight varnish of a representative re- gime, she has contrived with her 32 Gbc pearl laws to secure complaisant majorities in the pseudo-elective bodies. "To accomplish this purpose she has relied upon the European immi- grants, who have always supported the government of the Metropolis in exchange for lasting privileges. " How far the resident Spaniards monopolize the electoral franchise is shown by the single fact that, al- though in every ioo of the popula- tion there are only 10 Spaniards as against 90 Cubans, for every re- presentative elected by the Cubans the Spaniards elect at least 7 and sometimes 10. In other words, the 1,450,000 Cubans are represented, when most successful, by 7 deputies, and sometimes by only 3, while the 160.000 Spaniards residing in the island have been represented by 23 deputies and sometimes by as many as 27, the total number being 40. Such facts need no commentary." l 1 The above extracts from Varona's work Ot tbe Bnttlles. 33 This terrible indictment is con- firmed by El Pais of Havana, the official organ of the autonomist party, often persecuted by the Spanish authorities, yet always loyal to the sovereign of Spain. In its issue of February 4, 1891, El Pais, speaking of the electoral and representative system, says : " So much is certain : the represent- ative system is here (in Cuba) a wretched farce, a centre of infection, an opportunity to use the system shamelessly and without fear of punishment as a stepping-stone for the satisfaction of vulgar ambition. Wherefore speak of the will of the electoral body, a body that is prosti- tuted and a will that is abject? Parties which do not care to display, by their actions, genuine respect for the natural exigencies and the pro- can be found in Cuba, by Fidel G. Pierra, ex- Secretary of the Pan-American Congress, pp. 23-25. 3 34 Gbc pearl per conditions of the representative system, do not deserve to live. With insults to public law and con- science such as have occurred in the district of Punta y Colon, every honest breast will feel invincible re- puguance to electoral gatherings converted into depositaries of filth, and into dens of felons ; and thus the representation of the country will fall into impure hands, and serve merely to advance promiscuous and rapacious adventurers." Less than a month after the gifted young Cuban poet, Jos6 Marti, had raised the standard of revolt, the Spanish Cortes passed a law which, in a measure, reformed the methods of representation and voting, but did not strike at the root of the abuses just enumerated. Self-government, as the term is understood in Canada and Australia, has never existed in Cuba, nor can it flourish there so long as the island is ruled by a na- Of tbe Bntilles. 35 tion like Spain, which is wedded to medieval habits of thought and ad- ministration. The so-called plans of autonomy, including the decree of Sagasta, which is by far the most liberal, strike only at the surface of the cancer which is eating away the vitality of Cuba. The insular cham- bers at Havana are a parliament only in name. They possess no real legis- lative power. There are no inde- pendent and free courts of justice. The authority of the Captain-Gen- eral remains paramount. He and his irresponsible civil and military satel- lites may still suspend every consti- tutional guarantee. 1 Irresponsible, despotic rule, stag- gering debt and taxation, unblushing corruption of every kind, these are startling and terrible evils, but they fail to reveal the darkest portion of the picture. That which casts such a 1 See Appendix for a summary of Sagasta's decree of autonomy. 3<> Cbe pearl deep gloom of tragedy over wretched Cuba, is the utter miscarriage of jus- tice, and the failure to protect life and punish criminals. On this sub- ject, Seflor Varona says, in his cele- brated work, Cuba against Spain : " Personal security is a myth among us. Outlaws, as well as men of law, have disposed at will of the property, the peace, and the life of the inhabitants of Cuba. The civil guard (armed police), far from being the guardians, have been the terror of the Cuban peasants. Wherever they pass they cause an alarm by the brutal ill-treatment to which they subject the inhabitants, who, in many cases, fly from their homes at their approach. Under the most trifling pretext they beat unmercifully the defenceless countrymen, and very frequently they have killed those they were conveying under arrest. These outrages became so notorious, that the commander-in-chief of the Ot tbe Bntitles. 37 civil guard, Brigadier-General Denis, had to issue a circular, in which he declared that his subordinates " un- der pretext of obtaining confidential information, resorted to violent meas- ures," and that " the cases are very- frequent in which individuals ar- rested by forces of the corps attempt to escape, and keepers find them- selves in the necessity of making use of their weapons." What the above declarations signify is evident, not- withstanding the euphemisms of the official language. The object of this circular was to put a stop to these excesses; it bears the date of 1883. But the state of things continued the same. In 1886 the watering place of Madruga, one of the most frequented summer resorts in the island, witnessed the outrageous at- tacks of Lieutenant Sainz. In 1887 occurred the stirring trial of the " com- ponte," occasioned by the applica- tion of torture to the brothers Aruca, Cbc peart and within a few clays in the neigh- borhood of Havana were recorded the cases of Seflor Riveron, who was stabbed in Govea by individuals of the public force; of Don Manuel Martinez Moran and Don Francisco Gelanena, who were beaten, the former in Calabazar, and the latter in Yaguajay ; of Don Jos£ Felipe Canosa, who narrowly escaped being murdered in San Nicholas, and of a resident of Ceiba Mocha, whom the civil guards drove from his home. "This was far from the worst. In the very centre of Havana, in the Camp de Marte, a prisoner was killed by his guards, and the shooting at Amarillas and murders at Puentes Grandes and Alquizar are deeds of woful fame in the country. The administration of General Prender- gast has left a sorrowful recollection for the frequency with which prison- ers who attempted to escape were shot down. Qt tbe Bntilles. 39 " The deportations for political offences have not been discontinued in Cuba, and although it is stated that no executions for political of- fences have taken place since 1878, it is because the government has re- sorted to the more simple expedient of assassination. General Polavieja has declared with the utmost cool- ness that in December, 1880, he had 265 persons seized in Cuba, Palma, San Luis, Songo, Guantanamo, and Sagua de Tanamo, and transported the same day and the same hour to the African island of Fernando Poo. At the close of the insurrection of 1879 -1880, it was a frequent occurrence for the government to send to the penal colonies of Africa the Cubans who had capitulated. The treachery of which General Jose Maceo was a victim carries us to the darkest times of the war of Flanders and the con- quest of America. " Cuba recalls with horror the 40 Cbe pearl dreadful assassination of Brigadier- General Arcadio Leytc Vidal, perpe- trated in the bay of Nipe in Septem- ber of 1879. War had just broken out anew in the Eastern Department. Brigadier-General Leyte Vidal re- sided in Mayari, assured by the solemn promise of the Spanish com- mander-in-chief of that zone that he would not be molested. One month had elapsed since the uprising, how- ever, when having gone to Nipe, he was invited by the commander of the gunboat Alarma to take dinner on board. Leyte Vidal went on board the gunboat, but never re- turned. He was strangled in a boat by three sailors, and his corpse cast into the sea. This villainous deed was committed in compliance with an order from the Spanish General Polavieja. Francisco Leyte Vidal, a cousin to Arcadio, miraculously es- caped the same tragic fate. "The mysterious death of Cubans ©f tbe Bnttlleg. 41 who had capitulated long before have been frequent in Cuba. To one of these deaths was due the uprising of Tunas de Bayamo in 1879." ' How much, during sixteen years of peace, personal security has been a myth among the Cubans is illus- trated by one of the most atrocious political assassinations which has ever disgraced the regime of Spain. The crime occurred twenty-one miles south of Havana, on the night of the 6th of August, 1888. The newspaper, El Pais, edited and controlled by the autonomists who are now prominent members of Blanco's cabinet, pub- lished very full details of this crimi- nal conspiracy. Santiago de las Vegas and Bejucal are two towns of considerable size, situated some six to ten miles apart. In the former, the Cuban population 1 The translations of these extracts from Va- rona's Cuba contra Espaita, are taken from Fidel G. Pierra's Cuba. 42 tfbe pearl predominates. A number of the highest society of this place had been invited to attend a ball in Bejucal. Mysterious rumors and threats against the lives of several distinguished persons were circulated some days before. On the evening of the ball, the carriage containing the ladies invited had gone half the journey, when they were suddenly confronted, at a spot admirably adapted for an ambuscade, by ninety armed ruffians, conveniently ar- ranged in groups of ten or fifteen. The lucky accident that a lady of the party was a friend of one of the conspirators deterred them from at- tacking the defenceless women, who were allowed to go on, though grossly insulted and termed prosti- tutes. Following the ladies, came a carriage having twenty-four occu- pants, most of them youths of seven- teen to twenty years. The prey so impatiently waited for was entrapped. ©f tbe Antilles. 43 The assassins hidden in the brush fired a number of rapid volleys at the carriage, which fortunately had iron sides, otherwise the slaughter would have been awful. As it was, one young Cuban was killed and two wounded, one of them mortally. Satisfied with their work, the assail- lants went off exultant. Although the authorities of Santiago de las Vegas had been fully cognizant of what was going to happen, not the slightest precautions were adopted, the police were absent, the military commander could not be found, the mayor and municipal judge had disappeared, and troops were not to be seen. After the crime had been com- mitted, all this lack of vigilance was changed, because the authorities were apprehensive that the enraged citi- zens would rise in revolt. Santiago de las Vegas resembled a besieged city. Large bodies of soldiers and u Che pearl police patrolled the streets. Every step was taken to forestall an insur- rection, but the perpetrators of a crime which, in the burning language of the autonomist organ, El Pais, " makes one's blood boil," were never brought to justice. As this journal truly wrote, addressing the Governor of Havana : " May the Civil Governor hearken to our sup- plication ; we do not to-day request either autonomy, or liberty, or self- government, or houses of congress ; but simply individual security, the protection of our lives and property. This is the least that could be petitioned of the commander of an invading army in a conquered country." Enough has been said to illustrate the grinding tyranny that has con- verted Cuba's beautiful land into a desolate wilderness. " But after all," certain journals object, " to get rid of Spanish domination will only ©f tbe Bntllles. 45 result in substituting the arbitrary sway of some native dictator for the despotism of the Queen Regent." On what is this assumption based ? Can it be fortified by reference to the worst misruled republics of South America, such as Venezuela? In all the years the writer has spent as a close student of South American history, he has failed to find a con- dition of affairs as intolerable as that of Cuba. The two most monstrous native tyrants of Latin America were Lopez, of Paraguay, and Rosas, of Argentina. To them cold-blooded slaughter was as child's play. They hounded down their political oppon- ents and inaugurated, during twenty- five years, a reign of terror. Yet even they were humane compared to Weyler, whose " brutal and stupid policy" the better class of Spaniards themselves denounce. They did not gather the rural non-combatants, tender children, helpless women, Cbe pearl feeble old men into crowded, un- wholesome quarters in towns, there sl<»\vly to die of disease and starva- tion. That, since their independence, Mexico, Central and South America have been convulsed with revolution and anarchy, cannot be denied ; nevertheless, the trend of their destiny and aspirations has ever been upward. In enlightenment and progress, Mexico has advanced by leaps and bounds. In Chili and Columbia, orderly self-government is becoming firmly rooted. In the Argentine Republic millions of dol- lars have been spent on immigration and education, and, for thirty years, the public school and kindergarten systems of the United States have been extensively introduced, even to the most remote districts. There is no reason why, under the guidance of America, the Cubans, once given a fair chance, should not ©f tbe Hntilles. 47 establish a decent and stable govern- ment. The negroes, a possible source of danger, are decreasing year by year, and now constitute not more than one fourth of the population. One of the most difficult obstacles to progress in South America, namely, millions of wild Indians, does not exist in Cuba. Under extreme pro- vocation, the Cubans have proved their law-abiding spirit, and in the sixteen years following the peace of El Zanj6n, exhausted every consti- tutional expedient to correct abuses. As regards intelligence and virtues, it is the opinion of the Spanish Deputy, Castaneda, that the lowest peasants of Cuba are as fully capa- ble of using their political rights properly as are their Spanish breth- ren. It seems to be forgotten that the afflictions of Cuba have compelled her most illustrious children to wan- der, during seventy-five years, over r (Tbe pearl the civilized world, where, in the lands <>f their adoption, they have rendered important political services, and adorned literature, history, econom- ics, sociology, music, art, and science. The most enlightened Spaniards freely concede the genius and en- dowment of the Cuban people. In Madrid and the principal cities of Spain, the dramas of a woman, Cuba's greatest poetess, Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda, have been re- peatedly performed before crowded and enthusiastic houses. 1 Thus disciplined, thus instructed by adversity and exile, while the ' In Spanish Rule- in Cuba (authorized trans- lation), and Xnv Constitutional La-cs for the Island of Cuba, iSgj, both documents being published by authority of the Spanish govern- ment, tribute is paid to the great and brilliant array of Cubans who have distinguished them- selves in every branch of art, literature, music, history, science, and medicine. The truth con- cerning the remarkable development of this people, under the most adverse circumstances, remains yet to be revealed. ©f tbe Bnttlles. 49 Cubans may, through inexperience, at first make mistakes, they will not prove themselves unworthy of their dearly bought liberty. No careful observer of the events of the last thirty years can have failed to see, without increasing mis- givings, into what dangers and com- plications the Cuban problem must lead the United States. The fires lighted by two formidable and inter- minable insurrections in Cuba have endangered American lives, liberty, and property (amounting to millions of dollars). Worse than the extensive loss to commerce has been the fact, as pointed out by President McKinley in his special message, dated April 11, 1898, that " the temper and for- bearance of our people have been so severely tried as to beget a perilous unrest among our own citizens," thus causing them to pay attention to the affairs of a foreign nation to Cbe penrl the detriment of their own. Our government might expend millions to enforce neutrality, place our navy OB .1 semi-war footing, and vigilantly cause our coast lines, thousands of miles in extent, to be patrolled ; yet, the spirit of seventy million freemen could not be suppressed : they would have been false to their own tradi- tions if they had not shown sympa- thy and given moral support to a brave, patriotic, and heroic people who were defending life, liberty, and honor against overwhelming odds. Hence the success of the many filibustering expeditions which, in defiance of international law, have furnished the Cuban insurgents with the means of continuing their struggle. The wonder is, not that war should exist between the United States and Spain, but that the inevitable con- flict should have been delayed so long. Twenty-five years ago, the ©f tbe Entitles. 51 tragedy of the Virginius almost pre- cipitated an armed clash. More re- cently, the brutal murder of Dr. Ricardo Ruiz, an American citizen, who, towards the close of February, 1897, was arrested on a false charge, and, at the end of three hundred and fifteen hours of solitary confinement in a Cuban jail, was found dead and frightfully mangled, would assuredly have led to hostilities, had not Mr. Cleveland's firmness, and his desire not to embarrass Mr. McKinley, about to become President, re- strained the just indignation of the American people. The case of Dr. Ruiz was peculiarly atrocious, as the arbitrary military officials who caused his arrest and death violated not only the treaty obligations of Spain, but even the following guarantees of her municipal law : " Under the constitution no in- habitant of Cuba may be arrested except in the cases and in the man- 52 Zbe pearl ner prescribed by law. Within 24 hours of the arrest the prisoner must be discharged or surrendered to the judicial authorities ; thereupon a judge having jurisdiction must, within 72 hours, either order the dis- charge of the prisoner or order his commitment to jail. Within the same limit of time the prisoner must be informed of the decision in his case. (Art. IV. of the Constitution.) " No Spaniard, and consequently no Cuban, may be committed ex- cept upon the warrant of a judge having jurisdiction. Within 72 hours of the commitment the prisoner must be granted a hearing, and the war- rant of commitment either sustained or quashed." (Art. V.) — Spanish Rult in Cuba: "Laws Governing the Island." Authorized transla- tion, p. 18. The carnival of blood inaugurated by Weyler, and sanctioned by his superior, the late Canovas, was so aw- ©t tbe Hntilles. 53 ful and unparalleled, the slow starv- ing of hundreds of thousands of wretched reconcentrados so appall- ing, the massacre of wounded Cu- bans in hospitals so incredible, that the American nation refused to be- lieve the reports, which they regarded as the gross exaggerations of rabid and sensational newspapers. The country was deeply stirred when President McKinley requested Con- gress to appropriate $50,000 in order to rescue several thousand inoffen- sive Americans who were starving in Cuba. Nevertheless, so great was our forbearance, that, the reactionary Canovas having been killed by an anarchist, and the Liberal party having gained the ascendency, we desired Spain to have ample oppor- tunity to prove the efficacy of recall- ing Weyler, adopting a policy of conciliation, and offering Cuba more extensive reforms. Although Blanco proved to be a far better ruler than 54 Cbe pearl Weyier, the insurrection continued with all its desolation. At Christ- mas, President McKinley, having won the co-operation of Sagasta and the Spanish Cabinet, issued an appeal to the American people, calling upon them to contribute money, food, clothing, and medicine for the relief of the perishing non-combatants of the island. How nobly America re- sponded need not be told. The splendid efforts of Clara Barton, the Red Cross Society, and Consul-Gen- eral Lee produced some ameliora- tion, but so wide-spread was the destitution, that what they accom- plished was like using a bucket of water for extinguishing a large conflagration. In the midst of this work of peaceful philanthropy came, on the night of February 15th, the terrific explosion of the United States battleship Maine, in the harbor of Havana, whither, by invitation of the Madrid government, she had repaired ©f tbe Hnttlles. 55 on a friendly visit. Two hundred and fifty-eight men and two officers were killed, and many other marines wounded. The Americans displayed, in their hour of mourning, calmness, dignity, and self-restraint. They firmly refused to pass judgment, but patiently waited until a board of naval experts, after a painstaking examination which extended over a month, rendered the verdict that the vessel had been blown up by exter- nal agency, though who were the per- petrators could not be discovered. Regarding this catastrophe, Presi- dent McKinley says : " 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 government cannot assure safety and security to a vessel of the American navy in the harbor of Ha- 56 rjbe peacl vana on amission of peace and right- fully there." — Special Message, April ii, 1898. The appalling explosion of the Maine naturally aroused a feeling of deep resentment ; nevertheless, there was a strong undercurrent in favor of submitting the question of responsi- bility and indemnity to an interna- tional tribunal of arbitration. But what about the revolting stories of Cuban outrages? Were they true, or had the press indulged in wild exaggeration for the sake of money- making sensationalism ? No sophis- try that it did not concern the United States whether such outrages had been committed, would satisfy the American people. Senator Proctor, of Vermont, who had been a member of Ex-President Harrison's Cabinet, and is a trusted friend of President McKinley, felt that the people were right, and determined to go to Cuba and investigate for himself. The re- Ot tbe Antilles. 57 suit of careful inquiries and personal observation proved to him that the indescribably frightful state of affairs could not be exaggerated. After he had returned to Washington he de- livered, on the 17th of March, in the Senate, a speech on Cuba which at- tracted the attention of the entire country. A man of ripe judgment, and devoid of the fervid eloquence of his colleague, Senator Thurston, of Nebraska, who spoke, a week later, on the same subject, his calm, dispas- sionate address carried conviction. Among other things he said : " Of the hospitals I need not speak. Others have described their condition far better than I can. It is not within the narrow limits of my vocabulary to portray it. I went to Cuba with a strong conviction that the picture had been overdrawn ; that a few cases of starvation and suffering had inspired and stimulated the press correspondents, and they 58 ftbc pearl had given free play to a strong, natural, and highly cultivated imag- ination. " Before starting I received through the mail a leaflet published by the Christian Herald, with cuts of some of the sick and starving reconcen- trados, and took it with me, think- ing these rare specimens, got up to make the worst possible showing. I saw plenty as bad, and worse ; many that should not be photographed and shown. I could not believe that, out of a population of 1,600,000, 200,000 had died within the Spanish forts — practically prison walls — within a few months past, from actual starvation and diseases caused by insufficient and improper food. " My inquiries were entirely out- side of sensation sources. They were made of our medical officers, of our consuls, of city alcaldes (mayors), of relief committees, of leading mer- chants and bankers, physicians and ©t tbe Snttlles, 59 lawyers. Several of my informants were Spanish born, but every time the answer was that the case had not been overstated. What I saw I can- not tell so others can see it. It must be seen with one's own eyes to be realized. The Los Pasos Hospital, in Havana, I saw, when four hundred women and children were lying on the stone floors in an indescribable state of emaciation and disease, many with the scantiest covering of rags — and such rags ! Sick children, naked as they came into the world. And the conditions in the other cities are even worse." Speaking of the relief extended through Miss Clara Barton and American consular officers, Senator Proctor adds : " When will the need for this help end ? Not until peace comes and the reconcentrados can go back to their country, rebuild their homes, reclaim their tillage plots, which 6o Gbc pearl quickly run up to brush in that won- derful soil and clime, and until they can be free from danger of molesta- tion in so doing. Until then, the American people must, in the main, care for them. It is true that the alcaldes, other local authorities and relief committees are now trying to do something, and desire, I believe, to do the best they can, but the pro- blem is beyond their means and ca- pacity and the work is one to which they are not accustomed. " Gen. Blanco's order of Nov. 13th last somewhat modifies the Weyler order, but is of little or no practical benefit. Its execution is completely in the discretion of the local military authorities, and though the order was issued four months ago, I saw no beneficent results from it worth men- tioning. I do not impugn Gen. Blan- co's motives, and believe him to be an amiable gentleman, and that he would be glad to relieve the situa- ©f tbe Snttlles. 61 tion of the reconcentrados if he could do so without loss of any military advantage, but he knows that all Cubans are insurgents at heart, and none now under military control will be allowed to go from under it." Summing up, the Senator con- cludes as follows : " The dividing lines between par- ties are the most straight and clear- cut that have ever come to my knowledge. It is Cuban against Spaniard. It is practically the entire Cuban population on one side and the Spanish army and Spanish citi- zens on the other. I do not count the autonomists in this division, as they are so far too inconsiderable in numbers to be worth counting. Gen. Blanco filled the civil offices with men who had been autonomists and were still classed as such. But the march of events had satisfied most of them that the chance for autonomy came Gbc pearl too late. It falls as talk of compro- mise would have fallen in the last year or two of our war. If it stands, it can only be by armed force ; but triumph of the Spanish army and the success of the Spanish arms would be easier by Weyler's policy and method, for in that the Spanish army and peo- ple believe. The army and the Span- ish citizens do not want genuine autonomy, for that means govern- ment by the Cuban people. And it is not strange that the Cubans say it comes too late. I inquired in regard to autonomy, of men of wealth and men as prominent in business as any in the cities of Havana, Matanzas, and Sagua, bankers, merchants, law- yers, and autonomist officials, some of them Spanish born but Cuban bred, one prominent Englishman, several of them known as autonom- ists, and several of them telling me they were still believers in autonomy if practicable, but, without exception, 01 tbe Antilles. 63 they all replied that it was ' too late ' for that. " Some favored a United States protectorate, some annexation, some free Cuba. Not one has been counted favoring the insurrection at first. They were business men, and wanted peace, but said it was too late for peace under Spanish sovereignty. They characterized Weyler's order in far stronger terms than I can. I could not but conclude that you do not have to scratch an autonomist very deep to find a Spaniard. " I have endeavored to state in no intemperate mood what I saw and heard, and to make no argument thereon, but leave every one to draw his own conclusions. To me the strongest appeal is not the barbarity practised by Weyler, nor the loss of the Maine, if our worst fears should prove true, terrible as are both of these incidents, but the spectacle of a million and a half of people, the 64 Cbe pearl entire native population of Cuba, struggling for freedom and deliver- ance from the worst misgovernment of which I ever had knowledge. " But whether our action ought to be influenced by any one or all these things, and if so, how far, is another question. I am not in favor of an- nexation, not because I would ap- prehend any particular trouble from it, but because it is not wise policy to take in any entire people of for- eign tongue and training and with- out any strong guiding American element. " The fear that, if free, the people of Cuba would be revolutionary is not so well founded as has been supposed, and the conditions for good self-government are far more favorable. The large number of ed- ucated and patriotic men, the great sacrifices they have endured, the peaceable temperament of the peo- ple, whites and blacks, the wonderful ©f tbe antWes. 65 prosperity that would surely come with peace and good home rule, the large influx of Americans and Eng- lish, immigration and money, would all be strong factors for stable insti- tutions. " But it is not my purpose at this time, nor do I consider it my pro- vince, to suggest any plan. I merely speak of the symptoms as I saw them, but do not undertake to prescribe. Such remedial steps as may be re- quired may safely be left to an American President and the Ameri- can people." What Senator Proctor stated in re- gard to the failure of autonomy had long become the conviction of those who had most closely studied the Cuban problem. The welfare of Spain, as well as of Cuba, demanded that the island should be free and in- dependent. It thus became the duty of the President of the United States to bend all diplomatic efforts to this 66 Zbe pearl end, and remove the great source of the chronic insurrections whose dis- astrous effects endangered the peace and security of our country. But those who were most intimate with the intricacies of Spanish politics knew that Spain would never sur- render her control over Cuba except through force of arms. If Cuba were ever to be contented, happy, and free, it must be through the armed intervention of some foreign power, and that power could be none other than the United States, who, by for- bidding European interference in the Western Hemisphere, had pledged herself to vindicate there the rights of humanity. The time had come which President Grant foresaw in 1875, and of which Mr. Cleveland, in his masterly annual message to Congress (December, 1896), declared : " When the inability of Spain to deal successfully with the insurrec- tion has become manifest and it is ©r tbe BntUles. 67 demonstrated that her sovereignty is extinct in Cuba for all purposes of its rightful existence, and when a hopeless struggle for its re-establish- ment has degenerated into a strife which means nothing more than the useless sacrifice of human life and the utter destruction of that very subject matter of the conflict, a situ- ation will be presented in which our obligations to the sovereignty of Spain will be superseded by higher obligations which we can hardly hesi- tate to recognize and discharge." On the nth of April, President McKinley sent to Congress a special message, in which he carefully re- viewed the Cuban situation, reported the failure of negotiations to produce an adjustment honorable to Cuba and conducive to the best interests of the United States, and recom- mended that he be empowered to employ, if necessary, the military and naval forces to establish a proper 68 Che pearl and stable government in Cuba. The reasons for intervention are thus co- gently stated : " First, 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 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 door. " Second, we owe it to our citizens in Cuba to afford them that protec- tion and indemnity for life and pro- perty which no government there can, or will, afford, and to that end to terminate the conditions that de- prive them of legal protection. " Third, the right to intervene may be justified by the very serious in- jury to the commerce, trade, and business of our people, and by the Ot tbe Bntllles. 69 wanton destruction of property and devastation of the island. " Fourth, and which is of the ut- most importance. The present con- dition of affairs of 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 ; where the lives and liberty of our citizens are in constant danger 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 the foreign nation, the expeditions of filibustering that we are powerless altogether to prevent, and the irri- tating questions and entanglements thus arising ; all these and others that I need not mention, with the result- ing strained relations, are a constant menace to our peace and compel us 70 Zbc pearl to keep on a semi-war footing with a war nation with which we are at peace." Together with his message, Mr. McKinlcy submitted the reports of General Lee and other United States consuls stationed in various parts of Cuba. Their exact and carefully prepared statements removed the last lingering doubts as to the real- ity of the suffering, wretchedness, and torture endured by the reeon- centrados, of whom fully 200,000 had perished. That the American nation could no longer tolerate such barbarities was a foregone conclusion. To be sure, Captain-General Blanco had just revoked completely Wey- ler's reconcentration decree, and had even promised to assist the feeble survivors to return to their farms, but, with guerrillas liable to attack them at any moment, of what avail was this concession ? The Spanish government empowered General ®f tbe Antilles. 71 Blanco to suspend hostilities, enter into an armistice with the insurgents, and offer still broader terms of au- tonomy or home rule. The insur- rectionists rejected the proposals, for the good reason that they dared not trust a nation like Spain, which had so often failed to keep its promises. They were no more to be blamed for their decision than were the Ameri- can colonists, when, in 1778, they re- jected the proposals of Lord North, who, in the name of George III., offered them everything except in- dependence. That war between Spain and the United States was inevitable grew daily more evident, in spite of the friendly offers of the European Pow- ers and of the Pope to mediate. On the 19th of April, the anni- versary of Concord and Lexington, where, one hundred and twenty-three years ago, the first battle for Ameri- can independence had been fought, 72 Cbe pearl Congress passed its celebrated Cuban resolutions, which were duly signed by the President. They read as follows: " Resolved, By the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Con- gress assembled — ''First — That the people of the Island of Cuba are, and of right ought to be, free and independent. " Second — That it is the duty of the United States to demand, and the Government of the United States does hereby demand, that the Gov- ernment 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. " Third — 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 ($>t tbe Bntillee. 73 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. " Fourth — That the United States hereby disclaims any disposition or intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction or control over said is- land, except for the pacification there- of, and asserts its determination, when that is accomplished, to leave the government and control of the island to its people." Immediately after the resolutions became a law, the President sent them to Madrid, with an ultimatum that, if, by noon, April 23d, a satis- factory reply were not received from the Spanish government, he would proceed to carry them into effect. Prime Minister Sagasta, knowing al- ready their nature, did not allow our Ambassador, Mr. Woodford, an opportunity to present them, but de- livered to him his passports. Diplo- 7i Gbc pearl matlC relations were thus completely broken off, and war was declared (April 21 i. The United States pre- pared to fulfil its mission for the liberation of Cuba. The consequences of the war will indeed be far-reaching. The United States have already abundantly proved their military and naval prow- ess, but the crucial test will be, what use they will make of their victories. If they are misled, and join the Pow- ers of Europe in the lust of ter- ritorial, colonial, and commercial extension, their decadence will surely set in. If, however, they remain true to the traditions of Washington, Jef- ferson, Madison, and Monroe, they will loosen the fetters of millions of the oppressed in the Old and New- Worlds, and carry to the darkest corners the torch of order, liberty, enlightenment, and prosperity. Ani- mated by such a spirit, their moral influence will be felt in establishing ©f tbe Bnttlles. 75 an international court, before which all nations shall arbitrate their dis- putes, and the horrors and tragedy of war shall become an impossibility. Teaching a strict adherence to the instincts of justice, righteousness, and mercy, they will so broaden the scope of international law and obli- gations, that barbarities such as have stained and blackened the closing years of the nineteenth century will never again be permitted to occur. APPENDIX. SAGASTA'S decree of autonomy was published in the official Gazette of Madrid, November 25, 1897. An English translation is given in the supplement of No. 3, of Cuba, a newspaper published in the interests of the Cuban autonomists and the Spanish government, the office of publication being, before the declaration of war, in New York City. The decree has its meritori- ous points, but, by Article 15 of Title V., the Governor-General shall, in the King's name, convene, suspend, and adjourn the sessions of either or both houses of the Cuban parliament, though he must call them together 77 78 Gbe pearl again, or renew them, within three months. By article 27 of the same title, a member of the parliament is subject to arrest and punishment if he admits that " he is the author of any article, book, pamphlet or printed matter wherein military sedition is incited or invoked, or the Governor- General is insulted and maligned, or national sovereignty is assailed." If there were such a constitutional re- striction upon freedom of speech in our country, Senator Wellington, of Maryland, who recently severely ar- raigned the United States govern- ment for forcing war upon Spain, would be very hardly dealt with. Article 30 gives to the Captain- General authority to refer to the home government of Spain any bill or measure " whenever said bill may affect national interests." If such bill originate in the insular parlia- ment, " the Government of the is- land shall ask for a postponement of 6f tbe Snttllea. 79 the debate until the home govern- ment shall have given its opinion." By article 35, the Cuban congress must vote that part of the budget necessary " to defray the expenses of sovereignty," and no local appro- priations can be considered before the part for the maintenance of Span- ish sovereignty has been voted. In this matter of her quota of the na- tional expenses, Cuba has no voice, for, by article 36, " the Cortes of the Kingdom shall determine what ex- penditures are to be considered by reason of their nature as obligatory expenses inherent to sovereignty, and shall fix the amount every three years and the revenue needed to de- fray the same, the Cortes reserving the right to alter this rule." Considering how illiberal Spanish legislation relating to commerce has often been, Sagasta gives the Cuban government and parliament much latitude to enact commercial laws 80 dbe pearl and secure favorable commercial treaties. Unfortunately, these and all the other good provisions of the decree are nullified by still investing the su- preme authority in the Governor- General, and providing that " all other authorities in the island shall be subordinate to his, and he shall be responsible for the preservation of order and the safety of the colony " (Article 41). Paragraph 4 of article 42 enables him to suspend several provisions of the constitution, and empowers him " to enforce legislation in regard to public order and to take all measures which he may deem necessary to pre- serve the peace within and the safety without for the territory entrusted to him, after hearing the counsel of his Cabinet." In regard to the debt weighing so heavily upon her, Cuba has no power to make an equitable readjustment, ©f tbe Bnttllea. 81 nor to change the method of payment of interest or principal : all such mat- ters depending upon the decision of the Spanish Cortes (Article 2 of the Transitory Provisions). BIBLIOGRAPHY. Diccionario-Encyclopedi, Hispano- Americano. Barcelona, 1892. A. Larousse : Dictionnaire encyelopJdie. Paris, 1869. R. R. Madden: The Island of Cuba. Lon- don, 1853. R. M. Merchan: Cuba: Justification de su Guerra de Independcncia. Bogota (Colombia), 1896. Messages of Presidents Grant, Cleveland, and McKinley. New Constitution for the Islands of Cuba and Porto Rico. Sagasta's decree, published in official Gazette, Madrid, November 25, 1897. English translation in the supplement to Cuba, No. 3, New York. New Constitutional Laws for the Island of Cuba. New York, 1897. Parliamentary Papers, 1861. Report of Mr. Joseph Crawford, British Consul at Havana, on the Cuba Slave Traffic. London, 1861. 83 8 4 Stblioarapbg. Fidel G. Pierra: Cuba: Physical Features of Cuba; Her Past, Present, and Possible Fu- ture. New York, 1896. A. S. Rowan and M. M. Ramsay : The Island of Cuba. Henry Hoyt and Co., New York, 1897. Spanish Rule in Cuba. Authorized transla- tion. New York, 1896. Speech of Senator Proctor, of Vermont, deliv- ered in U. S. Senate, March 17, 1898. U. S. Consular Reports on Cuba, 1898. UNIV. vr w\ur. lid^im