Etc. [pp. 471-474]

472 OVERLAND MONTHLY
AFTER nineteen centuries of the freedom to coerce, the fteedom to corrupt, to
Cuba the Gospel of Peace, the Chris- steal, to seize on the fat plums of office themselves.
Libre! tian world is an armed camp, and Of liberty in the hroad Anglo-Saxon sense the lib the nation which has reached the erty of every man to do as he pleases so long as he
van of civilization and progress does not infringe on the like liberty of others, no
by the pleasant paths of pLace is sputtering war with Spaniard, Cuban. or other grandson of Castile and
the vehemence of an Apache Indian. Our legislative Navarre, has the faintest conception. C?1l)a Lii))'?
chambers are thick with sounds of fury, and our news- means nothing but a hotbed of revolution, with one vigpapers filled with jingo clamorings. And all this be- orous crop coming to maturity as fast as another is
cause the cruel descendants of a cruel race are en- harvested. All Spanish-Americans are against the
gaged in the good work of mutual killings, accom- government unless their friends are for the moment
panied by the torturings and clumsy cruelties which in office; and the southern republics of this hemihave ever characterized them. Two months ago we sphere have become a byword among nations for their
expressed the opinion that a hundred Cuban lives were OAe)'a b))ilJc methods of government. For us to
not worth that of a single American. Since then establish such a condition in Cuba is the height of
over two hundred valuable American lives have been folly, since it means the sacrifice of really valuable
lost by an act of treachery unparalleled in the annals lives. If the destruction of the Maine is not in itself
of any nation except those of Spain. When Columbus a cause for war, there is no justification for armed infirst landed in Cuba, the gentle natives showered hos- terference in the quarrel. It were praiseworthy of
pitalities upon him and his cut-throat crew. At his us to supply the Cuban insurgents with arms and prorequest they built him a house that he might live with visions, to recognize their independence and bid them
them, though they wondered why he wanted it with- maintain it; but it is quite otherwise to shed American
out windows and with only one door. When it was blood on their account. The benefit to humanity is
finished he invited all the able-bodied men to visit him altogether out of proportion to the cost.
in the house, which had purposely been made large
enough to hold them all. When his guests were BUT the fever of war is upon
safely indoors, his assassin crew appeared at the door Victory us; and, while a week ago there
and ruthlessly shot down all who resisted capture. And After? could hardly be found an AmerThe survivors were enslaved, and put to work at the ican who was not loud in denunmines and the plantations which their Christian cap- ciation of our jingo politicians
tors had stolen from them. By an' act of unspeakable and journalists, today the people are filled with warreachery was Spanish rule inaugurated in Cuba; by like sentiments. Victory for us is a foregone condoan act of unspeakable treachery that rule is about to sion. It is indeed a simple matter of arithmetic. But
terminate. there are remoter consequences which have not been
The Maine horror has confirmed us in our estimate mentioned by any of the various kinds of jingo ramof the value of American and Cuban lives. The mob pant just now. Occasionally a gentle critic may inwhich lounged about the wharves looking stolidly or dite a short letter to the ~Vctio;z or some such reasontriumphantly at the wrecked battleship the mob able sheet; but otherwise the aftermath of the harthat insulted Americans and jeered at the official re- vest we are about to reap has no been discussed.
presentatives of our nation, is as much a Cuban mob After victory, what? Annexation? Probably, for
as it is a Spanish mob. And when the Cuban Junta, that is the logical conclusion of the argument of war.
the s~)i-i~sa~t government of the insurgents, That is annexation of Cuba, of course; for Cuba is at
lately threatened to turn its arms against American our very doors. Besides, it has been demonstrated by
soldiers sent to free them from Spanish tyranny unless nearly a century of Spanish-American failures that
that freedom came in the shape they specified, we felt Cuba will prove incapable of self-government. But
that we had underestimated the value of an American what about the Philippines, for of course they will
life, and that a thousand Cubans were not worth it. fall an easy prey to our Pacific squadron? The cry of
The fact is that there is nothing to choose be- humanity has had far to travel from Manilla, but it
tween Spaniards and their descendants in Cuba. has reached us. The plea for intervention has been
From the standpoint of the humanitarian they are presented in the universal language which torture
both alike - cruel, corrupt, vindictive; and the cruelty everywhere, teaches. Shall we deliver the Philippines
of the Spaniards has seemed worse only because they back to the oppressor? Heaven forbid, for there the
have indulged it to continue their own power, while people are not of Spanish blood, and are gentle, kind,.
the others have practised it in the name of freedom. and hospitable. Hawaii, of course, will have been
But it is not the freedom we know. It is the freedom found indispensable from the first as a "coaling stato rebel~gainst any kind of established authority tion"; and having dropped like a ripe plum into our