THE CUBA REVIEW 



23 



OUR CLAIM TO THE ISLE OF PINES. 



Comments of United States Newspapers 



In the current number of the North 

 American Review Senator Clapp, of Min- 

 nesota, calls attention once more to the 

 fact that we are letting slip our claims to 

 the Isle of Pines. He thinks it is ours 

 by every right and considers the time 

 ripe to assert our rights in the premises, 

 not only because we need it, but in jus- 

 tice to those Americans who have in- 

 vested money there, have made it their 

 home and are now in a most unsatisfac- 

 tory condition. 



Senator Clapp says that it was the un- 

 derstanding of all the American and 

 Spanish commissioners that we were to 

 have the Isle of Pines. We were specifi- 

 cally conceded the sovereignty over 

 Porto Rico and the other islands of the 

 West Indies belonging to Spain, except 

 Cuba. Now the Isle of Pines never was 

 a part of Cuba administratively, he says 

 further, and was recognized as a sep- 

 arate island. The Cubans, instead of 

 showing gratitude, immediately set up 

 claim to it and we made a treaty by 

 which the question was left to "future 

 negotiation." Thus the matter rested 

 for some years until the Root treaty by 

 which we ceded the island to Cuba. That 

 treaty has not been ratified by our 

 Senate and probably never will be, but, 

 unfortunately, no time limit was set for 

 acting on it, which is contrary to the 

 usual practice. Cuba now controls the 

 island and will soon set up a prescriptive 

 right unless we take some action in the 

 premises. 



In conclusion, he says: 



The government cannot afford to rest 

 under the imputation of having aban- 

 doned its enterprising citizens who rely- 

 ing on what they supposed were authen- 

 tic official assurances, illustrated the 

 American spirit of enterprise by em- 

 barking in schemes which looked to the 

 development and settlement of United 

 States territory. 



on Senator Moses E. Clapp's Article. 



The Philadelphia Inquirer, comment- 

 ing on the article, says: 



"There is a moral obligation upon us 

 to protect those Americans who went 

 down there thinking it American soil." 



The Boston Herald takes the opposite 

 view and says that "any attempt to re- 

 vive American claim to the island de- 

 serves to be frowned on by public 

 opinion in the United States." 



It says further: 



"Against any assumption of American ownership 

 tliere is the declaration of the Supreme Court, in 

 a case which involved a thorough investigation of 

 all claims, the declaration of President Taft when 

 Secretary of War, the opinion of the then Secre- 

 tary of State, Mr. Root, and the record of our 

 Provisional Goverment, which during its tenure 

 recognized the Isle of Pines as properly a part 

 of the political demain of Cuba. If by any possi- 

 bility there might be discovered some technical- 

 ity on which the United States could base a claim 

 to title in the island, the movement to enforce 

 such a claim should be as vigorously opposed. 

 President Taft, when Secretary of War, declared 

 that any move to separate the island from Cuba 

 would be a "violation of a sacred trust," and 

 again, "If the island were divorctd from the au- 

 thority of Cuba, it would, without doubt, become 

 the base of operation of the opposition to the es- 

 tablished government of Cuba. It would be a con- 

 venient nursery for revolution, and constant vigi- 

 lance would be required to maintain the present at- 

 titude of friendly protection which is the boast 

 of our Cuban policy." 



The Hartford (Conn.) Times thinks 

 that the only way to obtain control of 

 the island is to first annex Cuba. It 

 evidently does not think that occurrence 

 very distant for it says: 



"As the capacity of the Cubans for self-govern- 

 ment seems to be likely to result in one more 

 failure, and that before very long, there does not 

 seem to be much need of worrying about the status 

 of the Isle of Pines at the present time." 



The Marshalltown (Iowa) Republican 

 speaks thus strongly: 



"The rights of an American citizen who has 

 trusted the assurances of his government and gone 

 afar are the biggest issue in government. No Amer- 

 ican should be able to go far enough away from 

 this country to be forgotten or unable to call con- 

 fidently for the protection assured by this govern- 

 ment. If these people in the Isle of Pines have 

 depended upon the promises and assurances of the 

 United States they should be backed to the limit 

 in all their rights ; if the government has been 

 mistaken it should make good its mistake." 



Mayor Ortiz made a report September 

 22 to the provincial governor, that Ainer- 

 icans in the Isle of Pines had at a meet- 

 ing protested against delay in the liquida- 

 tion of business relating to transactions 

 in lands by the fiscal zone officer. They 

 also complained of the closing of the 

 schools for American children and some 

 hunting regulations which forbids the 

 shooting of many birds, described as 

 inimical to agriculture. Written objec- 

 tions will be sent to President Gomez. 



A first class hotel is planned for 

 Santa Fe. 



C. W. Richardson of Toledo, Ohio, 

 died at McKinley, September 4. 



Bids are being received for a new mast 

 for the wireless station and will be for- 

 warded to Havana. The new mast will 

 be of steel and replace the two wooden 

 ones destroyed in a recent storm. 



Work has begun on the new 28-room 

 hotel at Vivijagua. The building, it is 

 expected, will be ready in December. 



