Against this army and against the Government of Spain a
revolt had been carried on previous to the present outbreak for a
period of ten years, and which had been settled by concessions on the
part of the home government. The present revolt was of two years'
standing when our government decided to interfere. The Cubans had
maintained disorder, if they had not carried on war; and they had
declined to be pacified. In their army they experienced no color
difficulties. Gomez, Maceo and Quintin Banderas were generals honored
and loved, Maceo especially coming to be the hero and idol of the
insurgents of all classes. And it can truthfully be said that no man
in either the Cuban or Spanish army, in all the Cuban struggle
previous to our intervention, has earned a loftier fame as patriot,
soldier and man of noble mould than ANTONIO MACEO.
Cuba, by far the most advanced of all the West Indian colonies; Cuba,
essentially Spanish, was destined to be the battle ground between our
troops and the veterans of Spain. The question to be settled was that
of Spain's sovereignty. Spain's right to rule over the colonies of
Cuba and Porto Rico was disputed by the United States, and this
question, and this alone, is to be settled by force of arms. Further
than this, the issue does not go.
Pages:
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167