

And State Papers 295 



eral grounds. In the first place we offer to Cuba 

 her natural market. We can confer upon her a ben 

 efit which no other nation can confer; and for the 

 very reason that we have started her as an inde 

 pendent republic and that we are rich, prosperous, 

 and powerful, it behooves us to stretch out a help 

 ing hand to our feebler younger sister. In the next 

 place, it widens the market for our products, both 

 the products of the farm and certain of our manu 

 factures; and it is therefore in the interests of our 

 farmers, manufacturers, merchants, and wage-work 

 ers. Finally, the treaty was not merely warranted 

 but demanded, apart from all other considerations, 

 by the enlightened consideration of our foreign pol 

 icy. More and more in the future we must occupy 

 a preponderant position in the waters and along the 

 coasts in the region south of us; not a position of 

 control over the republics of the south, but of con 

 trol of the military situation so as to avoid any pos 

 sible complications in the future. Under the Platt 

 amendment Cuba agreed to give us certain naval 

 stations on her coast. The Navy Department de 

 cided that we needed but two, and we have specified 

 where these two are to be. President Palma has con 

 cluded an agreement giving them to us an agree 

 ment which the Cuban legislative body will doubt 

 less soon ratify. In other words, the Republic of 

 Cuba has assumed a special relation to our interna 

 tional political system, under which she gives us 

 outposts of defence, and we are morally bound to 



extend to her in a degree the benefit of our own 

 14 VOL. XIII. 



