CONGRESS. ((YBAX AKKAIKS.) 



209 



battle. It is. a- snir.irested by the Senator fnun 



at, a case of clean, outright guerrilla warfare. 



" 1 do not claim thai everv tiling goes on in the 

 island of Cuba and in the conlliets lliere as it would 

 go on under an Anglo-Saxon people. We are deal- 

 ing with another race, and I now come to the piece 

 of testimony showing the manner in which the in- 

 surgent s are doing their fighting, if indeed it can 

 be railed legitimate fighting, struggling for liberty 

 if that is the phrase taken from the "New York 

 Journal." The heading is : 



" Maceo's great raid The insurgent general has 

 devastated the whole of Pinar del Rio.' 



" That is the name of a province. The next head- 

 ing is : 



" Thirteen towns burned All the tobacco crops 

 destroyed and people wandering about without 

 clothing.' 



What is the next heading? 



''Spain beaten everywhere.' 



" That is the method, Mr. President, that the in- 

 surgents are taking to beat Spain everywhere 

 'thirteen towns burned all the tobacco crops de- 

 stroyed' 'people wandering about without cloth- 

 ing.' Here is the report in full, with further 

 heading : 



" ' The true story of the result of the raid made by 

 Antonio Maceo into Pinar del Rio is beginning to 

 crop out. So effectual was the work of the insurgent 

 general that 13 towns held by the Spaniards have 

 been destroyed and the rich tobacco lands through- 

 out the province have been laid waste. Practically 

 all of the island west of Havana is a wilderness. 

 This news has heretofore been suppressed by the 

 Spanish censors, and it is believed that matters are 

 much worse than the news depicts. 



' " HAVANA, March 5. 



" ' The reopening of telegraphic communication 

 with the region of Pinar del Rio brings the first 

 detailed information of affairs in that province for 

 several weeks.' 



" This is where the insurgents had been with 

 their bands in possession of this territory for several 

 weeks, and were at last driven out, when the Span- 

 ish troops occupied the territory, and then, as this 

 Cuban organ says, for the first time light was let 

 in on the situation. Now, let us see how these 

 patriots in their struggle for freedom dealt with 

 this province : 



" The condition of affairs disclosed is little less 

 than appalling. The rich Vuelto Adajo tobacco 

 district seems to have been put to the torch and is 

 apparently reduced to a wilderness. 



" Whole towns have been obliterated or reduced 

 to a heap of ashes, and their inhabitants are wander- 

 ing helpless over the face of the country, without a 

 place to lay their heads or wherewithal to be 

 clothed, and many of them starving. 



"'TOWXS DESTROYED. 



" ' The villages and towns of Cabanas, Bahia 

 Honda. San Diego de Nunez. Santa Cruz de los 

 Pinos. Los Palacios, Piso Real de San Diego, and 

 San Diego de los Banes are known to be reduced to 

 ashes, and reports of others will bring the number 

 destroyed up to thirteen. All of these were im- 

 portant and thriving centers of population and 

 business. 



" ' The last town which has succumbed to the in- 

 surgents' torch is San Juan y Martinez. The 

 tobacco from this town is famous the world over to 

 all connoisseurs for its matchless flavor. Its culti- 

 vation brought great wealth to the people of the 

 district and gave material for a large commerce in 

 the town and support to over 1,000 families. 



" ' San Juan de Martinez is, however, no more.' 



"Mr. President, it is not even war; it is not even 

 VOL. xxxvi. 14 A 



battle; it is incendiarism ; it is the torch of destruc- 

 tion; it is pillage; it is murder; it is outrage. It 

 is what Faulconbridge calls the wildest stroke of 

 savagery.' If I vote alone, I shall vote for no n->o- 

 lution which gives aid and comfort to the red- 

 handed foray of this guerrilla leader whose exploits 

 are so exultantly chronicled as I have read them 

 here.'' 



Senator Hoar offered the following resolutions, 

 March 9 : 



H Resolved, That the consideration of the report 

 of the conference committee on the Senate concur- 

 rent resolution 19, relating to Cuba, be postponed 

 until Monday, April 6, and that the Committee on 

 Foreign Relations be directed before that time to 

 report to the Senate the facts which, in their opin- 

 ion, justify the passage of said resolution, together 

 with the evidence thereof. 



'"Resolved, That the President be requested, so 

 far as in his opinion may be compatible with the 

 public interest, to communicate to the Senate all 

 facts which may be in his possession relating to the 

 existing conflict in the island of Cuba, and espe- 

 cially such as affect the interests and duty of the 

 United States in the premises." 



March 23 the Senate agreed to the following 

 resolution : 



" Resolved, That the Senate insist upon its dis- 

 agreement to the amendment of the House of Repre- 

 sentatives to the resolution of the Senate in regard 

 to the insurrection in Cuba, and ask a further con- 

 ference with the House on the disagreeing votes of 

 the two houses thereon." 



Senator Platt submitted the following, which was 

 referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations : 



" Resolved, That the Senate (the Hoase of Repre- 

 sentatives concurring) hereby expresses its earnest 

 desire and hope that Cuba may soon become a free, 

 independent, and republican government, and that 

 the friendly offices of the United States should be 

 offered by the President to the Spanish Government 

 to secure such result." 



The next day Senator Mills, of Texas, spoke upon 

 a resolution he had offered, as follows : 



A joint resolution (S. R. 109) directing the Presi- 

 dent of the United States to request the Govern- 

 ment of Spain to grant to the people of Cuba the 

 power of local self-government, and in case the 

 Government of Spain shall refuse, to take possession 

 of the island of Cuba and hold it until its inhab- 

 itants can institute such government as they may 

 wish and organize and arm such forces as may be 

 necessary to support it. 



" Resolved by the Senate and House of Represented 

 tii-es, etc.. That the President of the United States 

 is hereby directed to request the Government of 

 Spain to authorize the people of Cuba, subject to 

 the sovereignty of Spain, to institute such local 

 government as they may wish, and invest it with 

 such powers as they may think necessary to secure 

 to the people of Cuba the right to life, liberty, and 

 the pursuit of happiness. 



" SEC. 2. That in case Spain shall refuse to grant 

 to the inhabitants of Cuba the rightful power of 

 local self-government, then the President of the 

 United States is hereby directed to take possession 

 of the island of Cuba with the military and naval 

 forces of the United States, and hold the same until 

 the people of Cuba can organize a government de- 

 riving its just powers from the consent of the gov- 

 erned, and arm and equip such military fore, 

 may be necessary to protect them from invasion." 



April 3, Mr. Hitt presented the conference report 

 to the House. After reciting the facts already 

 given as to the Senate resolutions and the substitute 

 offered by the House, and the acceptance of that 

 substitute by the conference committee, he said : 



