20 



T H K C U B A R E V I I^: W 



UNITED STATES NEWSPAPER OPINION 



AMERICAN PRESS CRITICISM, COMMENT AND ADVICE 

 FROM MANY SOURCES 



Raising the "Maine" 



It it should be proved, as we think was 

 very prohal)Iy tlie case, that the ship was 

 destroyed by an internal explosion, and 

 that the Spaniards had nothing to do with 

 it, there is no recompense this country 

 could make Spain for the seizure of its 

 territory. Whatever the result of the 

 work, the map of the world will not be 

 changed back to where it was before the 

 "Maine" was destroyed. — Richmond (Va.) 

 Timcs-Dcsfatch. 



The work soon to be started will result 

 in the elimination of an eyesore wliich has 

 oflfended every American visiting Havana. 

 and which has frequently caused not only 

 the Cubans, but other foreigners to won- 

 der how a big and ordinarily alert nation 

 like the United States could be so dilatory 

 and neglectful. — Baltimore (Md.) News. 



Shortly after the "Maine" disaster, Con- 

 sul General iMtzhugh Lee wrote to \yash- 

 ington : "I do not think the mine was put 

 there by the Spanish government. I think 

 probably it was the act of four or five 

 subordinate officers." To be sure, this 

 view, if sustained, would not relieve Spain 

 of all responsibility, but it would absolve 

 her from criminal intent. 



And should the wreck of the vessel in- 

 dicate that the explosion had been due to 

 an internal rather than an external explo- 

 sion, it would throw an entirely different 

 light on an important chapter of history. 

 The United States would still have been 

 justified in the course it pursued with ref- 

 erence to Cuba, but the opinion it then held 

 of Spain would have to be considerably 

 modified. That this government wishes 

 the whole truth to be known impartially 

 and has invited her one-time foe to take a 

 hand in the establishment of that truth 

 shows a splendid spirit. — Atlattta (Ga.) 

 Journal. 



Either the "Maine" should be saved en- 

 tire or her bones scattered by dynamite 

 where she lies. — Sacramento (Cal.) Bee. 



In the Hurricane's Path 



Cuba has had to stand the brunt of wild 

 hurricanes, lying as she does across the 

 path which the tornadoes travel. Her his- 

 tory records tempests which have mow^ed 

 down growing crops, levelled buildings and 

 left behind them a sw-ath of ruin and 

 miser\-. Yet. since the soil of Cuba is, as 



if in cmiipcnsation, the richest of any land 

 in the world, the vegetation is renewed 

 quickly. The buildings and dwellings, less 

 securely constructed than they are in cold 

 climate.^, are soon rebuilt. Life goes on as 

 before and commerce and industry are 

 again ujion a prosperous footing. — Toledo 

 (b.) Blade. 



Fotm elation of Effort 



Tile inculcation of individual purity and 

 the sacredncss of the marriage relation 

 must be the foundation of all efforts for 

 the uplift of the Cuban people. 



Then, with physical and intellectual edu- 

 cation in tile pulilic schools, which should 

 not fail to instil in the youth of Cuba the 

 true purpose of government and patriotic 

 spirit, we may hope for solid progress in 

 tiie right direction. The moulding of such 

 a people as tiie Cubans in moral and re- 

 ligious culture, and in gooc' citizenship, can- 

 not be accomplished in a few years, iiut 

 may require decades and the carrying on 

 of the work for more than a generation. 

 Those upon whom it devolves must be con- 

 tent with slow progress. Nor should the 

 Cuban people be expected to embrace 

 swiftly, or perhaps ever, all the ideas of 

 American social life. — Judge F. M. Hagan 

 in the Springfield (O.) Sun. 



The Power of a Minority 



Cuba is learning the lesson, so hard for 

 Latin-American repul)lics, that the "outs" 

 are not hopelessly excluded from all par- 

 ticipation in national affairs until such 

 time as they can become the "ins," either 

 through a new election or through revolu- 

 tion. They have studied the course of the 

 political parties in the United States, and 

 have seen the opportunity and political 

 profit in peaceful acquiescence to the ex- 

 pressed will of the majority of the voters. 

 They are learning the power of a minority, 

 and the effectiveness of a well-ordered and 

 proper opposition in congress. The liij- 

 erals are, therefore, though apparently in 

 control of the government, well balanced 

 by an intelligent and active opposition from 

 the conservatives. The time will probably 

 come when an overturn will put the con- 

 servatives in the majority control when the 

 liberals will take their turn as the minority 

 opposition. The principle is being learned ; 

 which is to say. Cuba is learning to gov- 

 ern htrstU.—B'osfon (Mass.) Advertiser. 



