E.7ZI .652 l84f LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 013 785 903 8 • Hollinger Corp. pH 8.5 4r . J? f*. ^ E 721 B32 Copy 1 KECOGNITION 01 THE INDEPENDENCE 01 CUBA. SPEECH OF HON. ¥M. B. BATE : OF TENNESSEE, IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, Saturday, April 16, 1898- 1808. ^ ^ 73004 ^ SPEECH HON. WM. B. BATE. The Senate having under consideration the joint resolution (S. R. 149) frtr the recognition of the independence of the people of Cuba, demanding thafr the Government of Spain relinquish its authority and government in the Island of Cuba, and to withdraw its land and naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters, and directing the President of the United States to use the land and naval forces of the United States to carry these resolutions into effect- Mr. BATE said: Mr. President: I suppose, according to the arrangement of last night when I was not here, time was allotted to me of fifteeD minutes without any request of mine. It is proper, however, upon an occasion of this kind, so momentus, so fateful, that every Senator who desires should he heard in regard to it and let his position be known to his constituents and the country. I feel much interest, as do my constituents, in this measure, and I would not he candid were I not to say I approach it with a degree of em- barrassment. I have no hesitation, however, in giving my voice and my vote for the independence of Cuba, and I am glad that my colleague and I agree upon this. I believe, in doing so, that we not only do that which is right, but reflect the will of our constituents, what- ever they may think upon the subject of peace. I believe that the independence of Cuba should be acknowledged according to the minority resolution presented by the Senator from Indiana [Mr. Turpie] , and it is to that that I propose to speak. Under all the circumstances, I approve of it, and expect to cast my vote for that report known as the minority report, and principally for the reason that it acknowledges the independence of Cuba, and does it promptly and without equivocation. Mr. President, for years and years you and I and all of us have been hearing of the troubles in the Island of Cuba. It is a part of the current history of the times. There was a time when the United States was solicitous to take Cuba as a part of her Govern- ment. But it seems not to be so now. But it has, however, be- come the sentiment of this country that Cuba should be cared for by the United States. Her wrongs, her grievances, perpetrated by Spanish rule, have become more or less personal. She has had a war period of many years. But an angry and ominous one has hung over her, filled with wrath, for the last three years. The Government of Spain has so long held Cuba by the throat that she thinks her grip can not be loosed, and resists with violence every effort in that direc- tion, and especially so of any effort by the Cubans themselves. 3217 3 in iirgonts have sprung up and for the lasl three years held .-it. |,.n ,' |,;iiii:;Ii |iuurr. I have !N I ioisill 1 1 J »< Hi llielll I in a usi I I hey rebelled against i he powor of a tyranl . Insurgents and rebels are synonymous terms, and they have tny sympathies. i\ir. President, yon may searoh history sacred and profi , tindont and modern and you will And thai wherever the word "liberty Is I I there are the words ''rebel" and "In urgenl on the page in front of It. Rebels and Insurgents are the fore- rnnnors oi liberty, and history so writes It. I have no criticism to make upon the Cuban Insurgents. They did the best they oould under the circumstances. Oi E the best evidences of their patriotism consists In the fad thai they fought those battles with- out mi v and hold the territory without outside aid. They have sustained their cause and have governed the Larger part of the beautiful Island of Cuba. Two of the states and three or four of the provinces are under the control of the Insurgents and have been for I hree years. Bui we are told In this Chamber thai we can uol reoognlze their Independence before intervention for fear that when our fore there Gonoi'rtl ( toinez will take command of them and will govern i in- (undue i . >i' i he wa r. Mr. President, thai Is not a patriotic idea. Thai is iii 1 1 the view for a man to take who wants to see Cuba free, h is not the view thai Lafayette took when he brought his fortune and bis men to Aineiui. He did m>i ask, "Shall l command?" or "Shall the French nation dictate the conduct of the war." He askod no such question, bul tendered his sword unconditional to Wall nm, 1 1 hi and teek the part assigned him. When, in the crowning aol of our old Revolution, at STorktown, the ti'icolor of France fluttered In front while Lafayette was with Washington in the rear of Corn wall is. neither D'Estaing nor Count De Grasse liesitated to oooperate with the American Army and repoii io an Amenean general. No, Mr. President, should our troops go to Cuba there would be no friction as to c< aanders. That would soon be adjusted to perfect satisfaction, it is not one of t hose matters about which we need have apprehension. The insurgents for the last three years maintained themselves. They have nut had, in a strict sense, a government de jure, 1ml it can nut be questioned, in the face of the fact of the reports which have i 'ecu m.uie to us from official authorities, thai there was and covernment de facto, one thai we must recognize, and one which has been able to maintain its aut hunt v o\ er t lie territory of thai Government in defiance of the power of Spain, notwithstand- ing her 800,000 t roups which were upon ( luban soil. The < 'ui ans have held that territory until this day; they have defendedit; they have kept up their little Bag for three years in actual warfare a; rail, si I hem. And why is it said t hey are not a power to t real Willi'. 1 Why need we hesitate upon the ground that General Gomez may take ohOTge Of the troops that may be senl there? There is nothing in it other than mere suspicion, and I dismiss it. History is not without precedents where, under similar circum- stances, independence has been acknowledged and recognition given by the nations <>r the earth, [give a precedenl in poinl from our own country, Passing i>.\ the "Ostend manifesto," which pointed to interven- tion in Cuba, it must not be forgotten when Maximilian was i i or of Mexico, possessed of the capital and at theheadofa Government, Juarez was a fugitive in the mountains and hia government as itinerant as that of Cuba at present. The United States maintained diplomatic relations with Juarez as far as was practicable with a government which, like that of Cuba at pres- ent, had neither local habitation nor abiding place. This country did not stop to inquire where the capital was, nor what seaports were held by Juarez, nor whether his legislature was in session or otherwise, but, regarding Maximilian as a Eu- ropean potentate invadjng an American State, we gave our moral influence and were prepared to add physical force to the fugitive and peripatetic government of Juarez without drawing the fino distinctions of international law. A great nation makes precedents and discovers principles suit- able and applicable to its own conditions and necessities. The United States called into existence the Monroe doctrine, which, it not yet written in the books of international law, stands as un- changeable as the laws of the Medes and Persians. This country, in the case of Maximilian, made Europe under- stand that no foreign prince shall ever sit permanently on an American throne, and tho time has now come to further empha- size the fact that the despotism of a European State shall not con- tinue on the Island of Cuba, almost in touch with our shores. The opportunity has offered to enforce this doctrine, and we should embrace it with promptness and vigor and let consequences take care of themselves. < This is an example, Mr. President, which is on all tours witii the one now before us in the case of the insurgents of < !uba. But it is said that these Cuban insurgents and rebels are without ships and without forts. They needed no ships, and they could not use them if they had them, for the reason that the insurgent govern- ment has not been acknowledged by the world; but if their inde- pendence had been acknowledged by the United States or by other nations, Cuba could have provided herself with ships to carry her commerce and she could have had all the relations with the outer world necessary for an independent government. Neither was it so in the South American republics. \V hen Mr. Monroe recognized them they were without ships of war and had but little commerce, and yet, sir, in the name of liberty, Presi- dent Monroe did acknowledge them; and if that means anything, it means recognition. The doctrine known as the Monroe doc- wliich, although I believe it is not known on the pages of on international law, yet the Monroe doctrine is now known and recognized everywhere, and is as fixed and unchangeable as the laws of the Modes and Persians. The Senate so recognizes it. Mr. President, the right to recognize the independence of a peo- ple struggling bravely for national existence appeals so strongly to the American people that the shadowy principles of inter- national law will hardly counterbalance that sympathy which springs in the hearts of a people who won their independence de- spite the law of nations and the power of Great Britain. Tha wrongs against which the American colonies revolted were mat- ters of political principle; those against which the Cubans have been in arms these many years have superadded to the same principles the horrors of a warfare hitherto unknown among civilized nations, involving the very existence of the people. Recognition of independence is always a question of fact, the criterion suggested by publicists being whether the old govern- 3347 6 merit had recognized the independence of the new. But no such principle is recognized by this country. Our independence pre- ceded by eight years England's recognition. Frame in recogniz- ing the United States disregarded the principles ($ noninterfer- ence, and the practice of European governments has for a century been that of interference. The nations of Europe in 1792 interfered in French affairs and attempted to set up another government for the people of France. The principle of interference to stop the effusion of blood, or to put an end to anarchy, such as that which has existed in Cuba, was, in 1827, .-justified by England, France, and Russia, when these nations intervened between the Sultan of Turkey and his rebellious subjects, the people of Greece. The Porte rejected the overtures of the nations, as Spain does those of the United States, and the great naval victory of Navarino became the precedent which it is to be hoped will follow in Havana Harbor. In 1823 France intervened between the Govern- ment of Spain and her rebellious subjects, and the army of France inched to Madrid. Again, in 1839, England intervened between the Government of Spain and her rebellious subjects, the Carlists. In 1825 Mr. Canning intervened between Spain and her rebellious colonies in South America, and '• called the New World into ex- istence to redress the balance of the old." The late abortive attempt at intervention of the nations of Eu- rope between Turkey and Armenia recognized the principle of in- tervention, but it is to be hoped that the fiasco will not be repeated in our intervention between Spain and the Cubans. History is replete with examples and precedents which justify our action and intervention in Cuba, but on no page of history is recorded a parallel act of perfidy and treachery to that which sunk the Maine in the harbor of Havana. A crime so recent, a horror so appalling, requires of me no repetition of its circumstances. It stands without a precedent and, happily for humanity, without a parallel among nations. Too gross in its iniquity for arbitration, too infamous in its character to be canceled by money, our people approve the Administration in its silence as to indemnity. The mangled forms of American sailors, the shattered wreck of our American battle ship, the dis- honor of our flag, admit neither arbitration nor indemnity, but demand of this country prompt recognition of independence for Cuba and immediate active intervention, if necessary, to secure it. I fully comprehend the responsibility that rests on those who appeal to war. I am familiar with its suffering, its cost, its hor- rors, but I fully agree with that sentiment expressed so epigram- matically by the Senator from Wisconsin [Mr. Mitchell] that, "There is something worse than war; something better than money." I add to it by saying that dishonor is worse than war and liberty better than money. Intervention in Cuba and inde- pendence for the Cubans may be a matter for debate and discus- sion, but the crime which sunk the Maine cries aloud for punish- ment — swift, sure, and severe. My vote for those resolutions is given more because of the crime against our flag, our battle ship, and our gallant sailors, than for any other cause. However much I may desire to see Cuba free and independent by her own efforts, my indignation over the perfidy which delib- erately selected the best place in the Havana Harbor to destroy an American ship, and perpetrated a crime without a parallel, 3347 carries my judgment for certain, swift, and severe punishment. The ghastly sight "will not down at my bidding." Go for a moment to the harbor of Havana and see the wreck of that vessel. You are Americans who are proud of your sailors and proud of the flag under which they were. Look there and see the misfortune that overcame them. I believe it was treachery. I do not charge the Spanish Government was a party to it, but I say they had placed those mines there. They knew that fact, and they should have given notice to any of the vessels of another friendly power coming within the purview of such a danger, just as a rail- road engineer is required to blow his whistle at a crossing or as a flag is held up to indicate where there is a point of danger. They knew the clanger was there; they had placed the mines therefor a purpose: they were silent as to their location, and the authorities certainly directed our battle ship Maine to be towed to that point and fastened to that buoy, without giving us notice that the danger was there. The captain of the Maine did not know the parts of the bay in which mines were located. He did not know they were there. He did not have the least intimation that there was danger there; and I say that the death of those sailors of our country cries out in the face of all the civilized world for vengeance. I seek not vengeance; yet I say that under such circumstances we can not overlook what has occurred. No man who loves the flag of his country, no man who loves its honor, believes that that outrage can be wiped out by the payment of rnoney. It is the trembling coward, the sordid huckster, who teaches such doctrine. Our peo- ple believe in maintaining the honor of this country, and they feel that this midnight assassination needs rebuke. 1 have never thought since the sinking of that vessel that we could keep out of war. As I regard it, it is in itself a casus belli. In my judgment it was the dutyof the United States Government to have promptly demanded satisfactory explanation, and. Mr. President, as so much has been said in this debate about Andrew Jackson in recognition of the independence of Texas. I venture to say that if he had been at the head of affairs, old Hickory, "by the eternal," would have let loose the dogs of war on Morro Castle in forty-eight hours after the destruction of the Maine and murder of our sailors, and perhaps would by this time have made peace with Spain with Cuba free. LABKHKY Uh CUIMOKL^ 013 785 903 8 ^ LIBRARY OF CONGRESS III I 013 785 903 8 • Hollinger Corp. pH8.5 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 013 785 903 8 • Hollinger Corp. pH8.5