Part 68 (1/2)
Campos had prosecuted the war through civilized methods, and, therefore, fell into disfavor at home. He was not a representative Spanish commander, and was now superseded by General Valeriano Weyler, who arrived in Havana in February, 1896. This man had as much human feeling in his heart as a wounded tiger. His policy was _extermination_. He established two powerful trochas across the island, but they proved as ineffective as those of Campos. Then he ordered the planters and their families, who were able to pick up a wretched living on their places, to move into the nearest towns, where they would be able to raise no more food for the insurgents. It mattered not to Weyler that neither could these reconcentrados raise any food for themselves, and therefore must starve: that was no concern of his. As he viewed it, starvation was the right method of ridding Cuba of those who yearned for its freedom.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
No pen can picture the horrors that followed. The woeful scenes sent a shudder throughout the United States, and many good people demanded that the unspeakable crime should be checked by armed intervention. To do this meant war with Spain, but we were ready for that. A Congressional party visited Cuba in March, 1898, and witnessed the hideous suffering of the Cubans, of whom more than a hundred thousand had been starved to death, with scores still peris.h.i.+ng daily. In referring to what they saw, Senator Proctor, of Vermont, said: ”I shall refer to these horrible things no further. They are there. G.o.d pity me, I have seen them; they will remain in my mind forever, and this is almost the twentieth century. Christ died nineteen hundred years ago, and Spain is a Christian nation. She has set up more crosses in more lands, beneath more skies, and under them has butchered more people than all the other nations of the earth combined. G.o.d grant that before another Christmas morning the last vestige of Spanish tyranny and oppression will have vanished from the western hemisphere.”
The ferocious measures of Weyler brought so indignant a protest from our country that he was recalled, and his place taken by General Ramon Blanco, who reached Havana in the autumn of 1897. Under him the indecisive fighting went on much as before, with no important advantage gained by either side. Friends of Cuba made appeals in Congress for the granting of belligerent rights to the insurgents, but strict international law demanded that their government should gain a more tangible form and existence before such rights could be conceded.
Matters were in this state of extreme tension when the blowing-up of the _Maine_ occurred. While riding quietly at anchor in the harbor of Havana, on the night of February 15, 1898, she was utterly destroyed by a terrific explosion, which killed 266 officers and men. The news thrilled the land with horror and rage, for it was taken at once for granted that the appalling crime had been committed by Spaniards, but the absolute proof remained to be brought forward, and the Americans, with their proverbial love of justice and fair-play, waited for such proof.
Competent men were selected for the investigation, and they spent three weeks in making it. They reported that it had been established beyond question that the _Maine_ was destroyed by an outside explosion, or submarine mine, though they were unable to determine who was directly responsible for the act.
The insistence of Spain, of course, was that the explosion was accidental and resulted from carelessness on the part of Captain Sigsbee and his crew; but it may be doubted whether any of the Spanish officials in Havana ever really held such a belief. While Spain herself was not directly responsible for the destruction of the wars.h.i.+p and those who went down in her, it was some of her officials who destroyed her. The displacement of the ferocious Weyler had incensed a good many of his friends, some of whom most likely expressed their views in this manner, which, happily for the credit of humanity, is exceedingly rare in the history of nations.
[Ill.u.s.tration: PRESIDENT MCKINLEY AND THE WAR CABINET
LYMAN J. GAGE, JAS. WILSON, C.N. BLISS, Sec'y of the Treasury. Sec'y of Agriculture Sec'y of the Interior.
PRESIDENT MCKINLEY. JOHN W. JOHN D. WM. R. RUSSELL A. CHAS. EMORY GRIGGS, LONG, DAY, ALGER, SMITH, Attorney Sec'y of Sec'y Sec'y Postmaster General. the Navy. of State. of War. General.]
The momentous events that followed are given in the succeeding chapters.
[Ill.u.s.tration.]
CHAPTER XXV.
ADMINISTRATION OF McKINLEY (CONTINUED), 1897-1901.
THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR.
Opening Incidents--Bombardment of Matanzas--Dewey's Wonderful Victory at Manila--Disaster to the _Winslow_ at Cardenas Bay--The First American Loss of Life--Bombardment of San Juan, Porto Rico--The Elusive Spanish Fleet--Bottled-up in Santiago Harbor--Lieutenant Hobson's Daring Exploit--Second Bombardment of Santiago and Arrival of the Army--Gallant Work of the Rough Riders and the Regulars--Battles of San Juan and El Caney--Destruction of Cervera's Fleet--General Shafter Reinforced in Front of Santiago--Surrender of the City--General Miles in Porto Rico--An Easy Conquest--Conquest of the Philippines--Peace Negotiations and Signing of the Protocol--Its Terms--Members of the National Peace Commission--Return of the Troops from Cuba and Porto Rico--The Peace Commission in Paris--Conclusion of its Work--Terms of the Treaty--Ratified by the Senate.
”STRIPPING FOR THE FIGHT.”
Enough has already been stated to show the real cause of the war between the United States and Spain. It was, in brief, a war for humanity, for America could no longer close her ears to the wails of the dead and dying that lay peris.h.i.+ng, as may be said, on her very doorsteps. It was not a war for conquest or gain, nor was it in revenge for the awful crime of the destruction of the _Maine_, though few nations would have restrained their wrath with such sublime patience as did our countrymen while the investigation was in progress. Yet it cannot be denied that this unparalleled outrage intensified the war fever in the United States, and thousands were eager for the opportunity to punish Spanish cruelty and treachery. Congress reflected this spirit when by a unanimous vote it appropriated $50,000,000 ”for the national defense.”
The War and Navy Departments hummed with the activity of recruiting, the preparations of vessels and coast defenses, the purchase of war material and vessels at home, while agents were sent to Europe to procure all the war-s.h.i.+ps in the market. Unlimited capital was at their command, and the question of price was never an obstacle. When hostilities impended the United States was unprepared for war, but by amazing activity, energy, and skill the preparations were pushed and completed with a rapidity that approached the marvelous.
War being inevitable, President McKinley sought to gain time for our consular representatives to leave Cuba, where the situation daily and hourly grew more dangerous. Consul Hyatt left Santiago on April 3d, but Consul-General Lee, always fearless, remained at Havana until April 10th, with the resolution that no American refugees should be left behind, where very soon their lives would not be worth an hour's purchase. Lee landed in Key West April 11th, and on the same day President McKinley sent his message upon the situation to Congress. On April 18th the two houses adopted the following:
WHEREAS, The abhorrent conditions which have existed for more than three years in the island of Cuba, so near our own borders, have shocked the moral sense of the people of the United States, have been a disgrace to Christian civilization, culminating, as they have, in the destruction of a United States battles.h.i.+p with 266 of its officers and crew, while on a friendly visit in the harbor of Havana, and cannot longer be endured, as has been set forth by the President of the United States in his message to Congress of April 11, 1898, upon which the action of Congress was invited; therefore,
_Resolved_, By the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress a.s.sembled--
First--That the people of the island of Cuba are, and of right ought to be, free and independent.
Second--That it is the duty of the United States to demand, and the government of the United States does hereby demand, that the government of Spain at once relinquish its authority and government in the island of Cuba, and withdraw its land and naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters.
Third--That the President of the United States be, and he hereby is, directed and empowered to use the entire land and naval forces of the United States, and to call into the actual service of the United States the militia of the several States, to such extent as may be necessary to carry these resolutions into effect.