'Cbe Conservative *
If wars carried
WARS OF on openly for con-
CONQUEST. quest are dishonor
able , what measure
of contempt should history accord to a
nation that practices deception and sub
terfuge to extend territorial limits , and ,
posing as a doer of humanitarian deeds ,
appropriates the property and lands of
another ?
If the Cubans
AMERICAN were fit for inde
INFLUENCE. pendence in 1898 ,
and we declared
they were , is it to our credit that they
should" have become unfit after three
years of contact with our civilization
and a more intimate acquaintance with
our political ideals ?
Commenting
CHRISTIAN INDEM- upon the Chris-
NITY TO CHINA. tianizing crusade
of the powers in
China under the command of the noted
missionary Von "Waldersee , the Central
Christian Advocate says :
"Even the boxers themselves have
been outdone by the lust , the outrages
and the rapine of the foreign soldiers. "
The Advocate also quotes an eyewitness
ness who says :
"For a century to come Chinese con
verts will consider robbery and venge
ance to be Christian virtues. "
If the death penalty for all boxer
leaders and $600,000,000 in cash are a
proper measure of the indemnity for
boxer transgressions , how much should
the foreign powers be required to pay
China because of the misconduct of their
soldiers who have exceeded the boxers in
lust , outrages and rapine ?
The man who
A MARKET has labor to sell
FOR LABOR. must have a mar-
ket. The more
men with money men denounced as
capitalists he can find who wish to
employ , the better the market and high
er the wages.
If there were no capitalists with
money to pay for labor , how could labor
exist ?
If instead of one rich man in a
thousand , we hod in Nebraska one hun
dred men out of each thousand worth a
million of dollars would the market for
labor in this state be worse or better ?
When wage-earners outnumber capital
ists a thousand to one , are employment
and good pay more easily attainable ?
When capitalists are numerous and all
demanding more laborers , do wages de
cline or advance ? What good comes
from the diabolism of discontent , pro
mulgated by the mouth-workers who
teach laborers to hate employers ? The
laborer and the capitalist are interde
pendent. One cannot thrive without
the other.
. ' - - - " - - -
-in-ircir-nrTi" nrmini in
The senate
CUBA. amendment to the
army bill em
powering the presi
dent to insist that the Cuban constitu
tion define the relations that shall exist
between the government of Cuba and
the United States recalls a promise made
by our government three years ago. The
president , in his war message of 1898 ,
declared that "in the name of humanity
the war in Cuba must stop , " and in the
island there should be established a
"stable government. " It is to be noted
that the president used the word stable
and not independent. In his opinion
stability should be an indispensable re
quisite of the government to be estab
lished in Cuba and independence only an
incidental characteristic.
This view of the president's policy is
corroborated by the speeches made by
senators in its behalf. Senator Platt of
Connecticut , said :
"The duty of putting an end to exist
ing conditions is no more imperative and
no higher than the
A Stable Government , duty of seeing that
order shall be
maintained there in the future and that
a government shall be established which
shall give the United States and the
world no more cause for complaint. "
Senator Caffery of Louisiana said :
"He shall intervene there * * *
and establish such a government as will
secure permanent peace. That ultimately
some kind of government of the people
will be established there is without ques
tion ; but that is a most delicate opera
tion , involving a practical acquaintance
with the local conditions , involving a
knowledge , in short , a complete inquiry
as to the social and political conditions
of the island. "
It is quite evident that the president
was opposed to committing our govern
ment to any speci-
Independence. fie recognition of
immediate or ulti
mate independence of Cuba. This
policy was carried in the house but was
opposed in the senate. Senator Teller
moved to amend the war resolution with
an express stipulation in favor of an in
dependent as well as stable government
in Cuba. The resolution as amended
passed the senate and house and was ap
proved by the president. The text of
this was :
"That the people of the island of Cuba
are and of right ought to be free and
independent.
"That the United States hereby dis
claims any disposition or intention to
exercise sovereignty , jurisdiction or con
trol over said island except for the paci
fication thereof and asserts the deter
mination when that is accomplished to
leave the government and control of the
island to its people. "
The speech of Senator Teller removes
any doubt as to the meaning of this
resolution and the spirit in which it was
intended :
"I wont the senate to say to the world
in the most emphatic manner possible ,
that we do not in-
Unselfish , tend in anyway or
manner to derive
benefit from this intervention * * *
I propose to make it clear to the world
that it shall not be said by any European
government , when we go out to make
battle for the liberty and freedom of
Cuban patriots , that wo are doing it for
the purpose of aggrandizement for our
selves or for the increasing of our ter
ritorial holdings. "
Referring to the Teller amendment ,
Senator Allison said :
"They passed a resolution that Cuba
should be free ; that there should be an
independent government there * * *
There is scarcely a senator on the floor
and there are few people in the United
States who are not in favor of seeing
Cuba free and independent , and of using
the army and navy , if need be , to make
it a free and independent state. "
Senator Jones makes the distinction
between the presidential and senate
policies all the more apparent :
"There was a sense of disappointment
that the word independent was not men
tioned in the recommendation made by
the president , and the only recommend
ation made by him about the establish
ment of a government in the island was
that there should be a stable government.
Stable seemed to imply that the govern
ment of the United States should exer
cise the power of supervision there to
prevent an overthrow , to maintain , to
uphold , or sustain whatever govern
ment might be established in the island.
That was precisely what many of us
did not believe ought to be said. "
The foregoing clearly shows the obliga
tions assumed by the congress of the
United States in
A Promise. the adoption of
the war resolu
tion. The honor and faith of the gov
ernment were solemnly pledged to es
tablish a stable and independent govern
ment in Cuba.
The treaty of Paris , by which peace
was concluded between Spain and the
United States , contained the following
stipulation in regard to Cuba :
"And as the island is upon its evacua
tion by Spain to bo occupied by the
United States , the United States will ,
so long as such occupation shall last ,
assume and discharge the obligations
* * * for the protection of life and
property. It is understood that any
obligations assumed in this treaty by the
United States with respect to Cuba are
limited to the time of its occupancy
thereof. "
In accord with this treaty , a military
government was organized in Cuba with
General Wood as
Pacification. governor-general.
In due time he
called a oonvention to be composed of
