THE CUBA REVI E W. 



15 



THE PRESS OF THE UNITED STATES. 



one salvation, and every pious moan 

 over the condition of the island begins 

 with a wish that she would do better 

 and ends with a threat that we'll stay 

 the next time we go down there. — New- 

 ark (N. J.) News. 



A Protectorate Best. 



In the event of another intervention by 

 the United States, Mr. H. A. Austin, who 

 was an official in Cuba during the Ameri- 

 can occupation, declares in a recent issue 

 of the North American Review that a pro- 

 tectorate by the United States would be 

 most acceptable to the Cubans themselves, 

 and less injurious to our own domestic in- 

 terests. 



He holds that in the administration of their 

 Government there are three conditions which the 

 Cubans desire to prevail: First, security from 

 foreign invasion or interference ; second, a force 

 adequate to suppress interior disturbances, and, 

 third, opportunity to hold a reasonable share of 

 the public offices under an independent govern- 

 ment. Tliey believe that these ends can be ac- 

 complished with least difficulty through an 

 American protectorate, and this scheme would 

 undoubtedly meet the hearty approval of the 

 Cubans at large. In Cuba it is discussed more 

 than any other proposition, for it would not in- 

 jure the pride of the people, it would allow them 

 to hold office under the Government, it would 

 assure peaceful conditions on the island and 

 prevent encroachment or invasion by any other 

 foreign nation. By this means, also, the tariff 

 question could be allowed to remain in statu quo, 

 and thus any opposition could be allayed that 

 would otherwise arise from the sugar, tobacco, 

 fruit and other ■ interests in this country. 



Undeterred by the prospect of a deficit 

 and not having the fear of the Piatt amend- 

 ment before his eyes, President Gomez is 

 arranging such an extension of the Cuban 

 diplomatic service as will provide a num- 

 ber of nice, fat, juicy offices for some of 

 the clamorous claimants to whom he is 

 politically indebted. There is an old prov- 

 erb which tells us where the beggar will 

 ride if set on horseback. The Cuban poli- 

 ticians appear to be headed in that direc- 

 tion. — Phila. (Pa.) Inquirer. 



Certainly if the United S'tates cannot 

 steady Cuba a little nation with less than 

 3,000,000 people, it would seem that there 

 must be something lacking in our states- 

 manship. — Boston (Mass.) Transcript. 



This country rendered Cuba a great ser- 

 vice when it assured the island independ- 

 ence of Spain, cleaned up its harbors and 

 showed its people how to live under sani- 

 tary conditions. — ■ Alanchester (N. H.) 

 Union. 



Was It a Blunder? 



There is a question whether the last 

 intervention in Cuba, supervised by Mr. 

 Taft, was not a blunder — not as an in- 

 tervention, but in its political operation. 

 The Palma government, whatever its 

 faults, was our government — suggested, 

 sanctioned and set up in business by 

 the United States. Yet it was permitted 

 and even encouraged to fall, on the ap- 

 parent assumption that the "majority" 

 were against it, and ought to rule. 



Cuba was ours by right of conquest. 

 It was our lawful prize of war. Instead 

 of taking what belonged to us, and all 

 that belongs to us, we paltered and 

 shirked. 



We could not quite cut Cuba adrift 

 altogether. Geographic facts made that 

 impossible. But we pretended to set 

 Cuba up in business as an "independent 

 republic." We could not with all our 

 power make Cuba really "independent." 

 All we could do was to make a pre- 

 tense. 



Cuba cannot be really "independent" 

 because of the character of her people 

 and because of her economic situation. 

 Her people, as a whole, have no real 

 conception of what the rule of a demo- 

 cratic majority means or how to work 

 its machinery. And Citba would starve 

 into anarchy within a year without fiscal 

 favor from some great nation needing 

 her chief product. 



Let us hope that the next require- 

 ment of intervention in Cuba will find 

 the government at Washington ready to 

 cjuit playing the universal benefactor 

 and ready to deal with Cuba in accord- 

 ance with the facts. 



Paper constitutions and grandmother- 

 Iv advice do not make nations. And 

 shirking a responsibility does not solve 

 a problem. — Chicago Inter-Ocean. 



Influences are at work to bring the an- 

 nexation of the island forward in a more 

 indirect manner than by government 

 intervention. The people of Cuba do not 

 want it; the people of the United States 

 do not want it, but a class in both coun- 

 tries sees its own purposes furthered by 

 such a step. What cannot be done by 

 government or popular consent inay be 

 done by economic forces. It will not be 

 long before we shall see whether the 

 fruit it ready to be picked. — Macon (Ga.) 

 Telegraph. 



The best policy to pursue is to leave Cuba 

 alone. She will come into the Union of 

 her own accord. — ^lemphis (Tenn.) Com- 

 mercial Appeal. 



