WHAT WILL THE FUTURE BE?
It is unnecessary to refer except in a brief manner to the
Spanish-American war, as the struggle is at the present time of writing
only in its inception, and no one can tell how long it will last or what
reverses each side may experience before peace is declared.
One thing is certain, however. The result is not problematical. It is
assured. The United States will be victorious in the end, be that end
near or distant, and Cuba must and shall be free.
If ever there was a war that was entered into purely from motives of
humanity and with no thought whatever of conquest, it is this one. The
entire people of the United States were agreed that their purpose was a
holy one, and instantly the call of the President was responded to from
all parts of the country. Sectional differences, such as they were,
vanished like mist before the sun. There was no Easterner, no Westerner,
no Northerner, no Southerner, but "Americans all."
We are proud of our army and navy, and justly so. Dewey destroyed a
large fleet, without the loss of a man, a feat unprecedented in the
annals of warfare, ancient or modern. Sampson bottled up Cervera's fleet
in the harbor of Santiago, after the wily admiral had attempted a
diplomacy which was nothing more nor less than absurd, and when
Cervera, on the eve of the surrender of the city, attempted to escape
from his self-constituted trap, his four armored cruisers and two
torpedo boat destroyers were literally riddled and sunk outside the
harbor by the skilful gunners of the American fleet. Hobson, in sinking
the Merrimac, displayed a heroism that has never been surpassed. And on
land, General Shafter's achievements have been brilliant in the extreme.
It is interesting here to examine for a moment the attitude of other
countries toward us since the declaration of war with Spain.
Of course they all declared neutrality.
At first France apparently was very bitter against us, declaring that it
was a war of aggression and one that was unjustified. We think we have
already shown in these pages how unwarrantable such an accusation was.
There was a reason for France's feeling, outside of the fact that her
people, like Spain's, belong to the Latin race, and that reason was that
a large proportion of Spanish bonds was held in France. Even the best of
us do not bear with equanimity anything which depletes our pockets. But
it was not long before a great change took place both in press and
public and a wave of French sympathy turned toward us. This is as it
should be and was inevitable. There could be no lasting rancor between
us and our sister republic, the country who gave us Lafayette and
presented us with the Statue of Liberty.
The press of Germany has unquestionably said some very harsh things.
But we are confident that the feeling is confined to the press and does
not represent the mass of the people. We do know that it is in no way
representative of the German government, which from the very beginning
has showed itself most friendly to us. The ties between Germany and the
United States are too strong ever to be severed, with the thousands and
thousands of Germans in this country who rank among our very best
citizens.
Russia, who from time immemorial has been our friend and given us her
moral support in all our troubles, has treated us with the utmost
cordiality.
But the pleasantest thing of all has been the attitude of Great Britain,
our once mother country. She has stood by us through thick and thin,
hurling defiance in the face of the world in her championship of us, and
rejoicing in our victories almost as if they were her own. This has done
more to bring the two great English-speaking nations together than
anything else could possibly have done, and will probably have far
reaching consequences in the future.
The Marquis of Lansdowne, the British Secretary of State of War, in a
recent speech, thus expressed himself:
"There could be no more inspiring ideal than an understanding between
two nations sprung from the same race and having so many common
interests, nations which, together, are predominant in the world's
commerce and industry.
"Is there anything preposterous in the hope that these two nations
should be found--I will not say in a hard and fast alliance of offense
and defense, but closely connected in their diplomacy, absolutely frank
and unreserved in their international councils, and ready wherever the
affairs of the world are threatened with disturbance to throw their
influence into the same scale?
"Depend upon it, these are no mere idle dreams or hazy aspirations. The
change which has come over the sentiment of each country toward the
other during the last year or two is almost immeasurable. One can
scarcely believe they are the same United States with whom, only two
years ago, we were on the verge of a serious quarrel.
"The change is not an ephemeral understanding between diplomatists, but
a genuine desire of the two peoples to be friends, and therefore it
cannot be laughed out of existence by the sort of comments we have
lately heard."
There is a poem which we cannot forbear to quote here, it is so fine in
itself and so expressive of the existing situation. The author is
Richard Mansfield, the eminent actor:
THE EAGLE'S SONG.
BY RICHARD MANSFIELD.
The Lioness whelped, and the sturdy cub
Was seized by an eagle and carried up
And homed for a while in an eagle's nest,
And slept for a while on an eagle's breast,
And the eagle taught it the eagle's song:
"To be staunch and valiant and free and strong!"
The Lion whelp sprang from the eerie nest,
From the lofty crag where the queen birds rest;
He fought the King on the spreading plain,
And drove him back o'er the foaming main.
He held the land as a thrifty chief,
And reared his cattle and reaped his sheaf,
Nor sought the help of a foreign hand,
Yet welcomed all to his own free land!
Two were the sons that the country bore
To the Northern lakes and the Southern shore,
And Chivalry dwelt with the Southern son,
And Industry lived with the Northern one.
Tears for the time when they broke and fought!
Tears was the price of the union wrought!
And the land was red in a sea of blood,
Where brother for brother had swelled the flood!
And now that the two are one again,
Behold on their shield the word "Refrain!"
And the lion cubs twain sing the eagle's song,
"To be staunch and valiant and free and strong!"
For the eagle's beak and the lion's paw,
And the lion's fangs and the eagle's claw,
And the eagle's swoop and the lion's might,
And the lion's leap and the eagle's sight,
Shall guard the flag with the word "Refrain!"
Now that the two are one again!
Here's to a cheer for the Yankee ships!
And "Well done, Sam," from the mother's lips!
War is unquestionably a terrible thing. As General Sherman put it, "war
is hell." But there are other terrible and yet necessary things, also,
such as the operations of surgery and the infliction of the death
penalty.
War is justifiable, when waged, as the present one unquestionably is,
from purely unselfish motives, simply from a determination to rescue a
people whose sufferings had become unbearable to them and to the
lookers-on. The United States, by its action, has set a lesson for the
rest of the world, which the latter will not be slow to learn and for
which future generations will bless the name of America.
Nobly are we following out the precepts of our forefathers, who declared
in one of the most magnificent documents ever framed:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created
equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable
rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted
among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed;
that, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends,
it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute
new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing
its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect
their safety and happiness."
We fought for these principles, in our own interests, a century and a
quarter ago; in the interests of others, we are fighting for them
to-day.
A question which has been universally asked is this: Can the Cubans, if
they obtain freedom, govern themselves, or will not a free Cuba become a
second Hayti with all the horrors of that island?
To this our reply is: Most emphatically Cuba will be able to govern
herself; not in the beginning, perhaps, where mistakes must of
necessity be made, but most certainly in the end.
The Cuban leaders are men of high intelligence and lofty purposes, and
they know what reforms must be instituted. Some one has said that "love
of liberty is the surest guarantee of representative government."
Surely these men have shown their love of liberty in the fullest degree
and have proved themselves in every way fitted for self-government.
The Cubans, strange as the statement may seem to those who have studied
the matter only in a cursory way, are not a people who love trouble.
Though revolution after revolution has occurred in the island, the
Cubans have never taken up arms until every peaceful means of redress
had been resorted to.
It has been feared that the negro element would be a disturbing
influence, but we can see little or no reason for this dread. The same
thing was said of the emancipation of the slaves in our own South, but
certainly, taken altogether, the behavior of the colored race in the
United States, since the Civil War, has been most praiseworthy.
A Frenchman, Baron Antomarchi, who is naturally unprejudiced, says:
"When the time for the settlement of the Cuban question shall have come
it will be an affair of give and take between the whites and the
negroes, and if the negro does not succeed in convincing the white man
that he is entitled to a full measure of civil authority, a measure
which by reason of his numerical strength he will have a right, under a
republican government, to exact, then we may have to stand by while Cuba
engages in an internal struggle important enough to cripple or, to say
the least, seriously hinder, her development. Should the war come to an
end and should Cuba be free to develop the riches of the land for which
she is now battling, an American protectorate would prevent all dangers
of race conflict. The United States would be under a moral obligation to
avert disorder. Aside from all considerations of a commercial character
there would be the obligation resulting from an adherence to consistency
of conduct. The stand taken by the American legislators, or some of
them, to say nothing of the stand taken by the American people, would
make this latter obligation even still more binding.
Not until her machetes shall have been returned to their original use
can Cuba develop the riches bestowed upon her by Nature. After the dawn
of peace, when her sons are free to settle down to the tranquil life of
the untrammeled husbandman, there will be no hunted exiles in the long
grass of her savannas. When Cuba has attained the quiet calm that her
younger generation has never known, she will show the world that it was
not for idle brigands that Maceo died. In the shadow of the feathered
cocoa palms in the deep shade of the drooping heavy leaves where Gilard
dreamed of liberty, great cities shall one day loom in the misty, tropic
twilight, and peace shall brood over the land that now, seamed with the
graves of Cuba's heroes, awaits the murdered bodies of Cuban victims.
Not until that day has come will it be known how strong to endure
torment and sorrow, how brave in time of danger, were the men who won
the day for Cuban independence."
It is absolutely certain that all the natural and political ties that
have bound "the Ever Faithful Isle" to the mother country have been so
completely severed that it is utterly impossible they should ever be
united again.
The unique banner of Cuba, with its blue and white stripes and a single
star upon a red triangle, has cost more blood and treasure than any
revolutionary flag known to history.
When this war is over, and Spain has learned her lesson, severe but
well-deserved, and we hope salutary, then shall that flag take its place
among the honored ones of other nations; then will the Cubans show their
ability to prize and cherish the liberty for which the blood of their
heroes has been spilled; then, under the protectorate of the United
States, but as an independent republic, will Cuba, in the words of our
own General Lee, emerge from the dark shadows of the past, and stand
side by side with those countries who have their place in the sunlight
of peace, progress and prosperity.
Oh! Cuba Libre! as Longfellow said of our own Union, so do all
Americans, who are now fighting with you shoulder to shoulder, say to
you:
"Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee;
Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears,
Our faith triumphant o'er our fears,
Are all with thee--are all with thee!"
(THE END.)
* * * * *
[Illustration: book's back cover]
Transcriber's note:
Both Hatury and Hatuey appear in the text. Due to the fact that there
were so many typographical errors in the printing, it is assumed that
Hatury is also one. Hatury has been changed to Hatuey which is the
original Spanish spelling of the Taino chief's name.
The spelling of the country, Chile remains spelled Chili.
The spelling of reconcehtrado was changed to reconcentrado;
add nauseam.=>ad nauseam.
The title page carrie the error: IT'S PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE.
This has been corrected: ITS PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE.