E 721 .F6 ^ J ^. V >--..^. ^ ^ ^ \^"^1 ''-^ THE CUBAN QUESTION. SPEECH OF ^ HON. JOSEPH b:foraker, OF OHIO, IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, Wednesday, April IS, 189S. W-A.SHINGTOM. 1S98. G8085 SPEECH OF IIOX. JOSEPH B. FORAKEE, The joint resolution (S. R. 149) for the recognition of the inde- pendence of the people of Cuba, demanding that the Government of Spain relinquish its authority and government in the Island of Cuba, and to withdraw its land and naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters, and directing the President of the United States to use the land and naval forces of the United States to carry these resolutions into effect, was read the first time at length, as follows: Whereas the abhorrent conditions which have existed for more than three years in the Island of Cuba, so near our own borders, liavo 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 battle ship, with 26ii 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, 189B, upon which the action of Congress was invited: Therefore, Eesolved b;/ the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, Fii'st. 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 Gov- ernment 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 ia, di- rected and empowered to use the entire land and naviil 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 resolu- tions into effect. ****** «- The Secretary. It is proposed to strike out all after the re- solving clause and insert: The President is authorized, directed, and empowered to intervene at once to restore peace on the Island of Cuba, and secure to the people thereof a firm, stable, and independent government of their own, and is authorized to use the Army and naval forces of the United States to secure this end. ******* Mr. FORAKER. Mr. President, in his message of the 11th in- stant the Pre.sident of the United States has very thoroughly and with striking effect and force reviewed the entire Cuban question. After a thorough discussion of it in all its features and aspects, he announces certain conclusions which he has reached. Among these conclusions is the following. I read from the President's message. Speaking of the long-protracted struggle in Cuba, he says: The long trial has proved that the object for which Spain has waged the war can not be attained. After stating his conclusions, the President then makes certain recommendations, some in a negative and some in an affirmative form. One of the negative recommendations is that notwith- 3229 3 . standiuj? he finds and states to ua that the effort of Spain to sub- due and conquer the insurgents in Cuba has been futile, we shall continue to deny to the people of Ciiba and also to the govern- ment established by the insurgents of Cuba a recognition of inde- pendence. The President then proceeds to make certain affirmative recom- mendations. One of these affirmative recommendations is that Congress shall invest him with power — To take measures to secure a full and final termination of hostilities be- t'^een the Government of Spain and the people of Cuba, and to secure in the island the establishment of a stable government, capable of maintaining order and observing its international obligations. The President makes other recommendations, but I do not care to refer to them tn this connection. This message, with these recommendations, was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. I need not say, after the read- ing of the very elaborate report of the Foreign Relations Commit- tee, that it has given to this subject the most profound, careful, and exhaustive consideration. That report was prepared by our distinguished chairman [Mr. Davis]. I may, therefore, with propriety speak of it in words of compliment. It must be mani- fest to every Senator that it bears the marks of that ability which characterizes all the productions of that distinguished Senator's pen. Together with this report, the committee has placed before us, with its favorable recommendation for adoption, a set of resolu- tions. Those resolutions have just been read. They declare, in the first place, that the people of the Island of Cuba are, and of right ought to be, fi-ee and independent. In their second proposi- tion they declare that it is the duty of this Government to de- mand, and that this Government does hereby — demand by the pas- sage of these resolutions — not by the action of somebody else hereafter to be taken — does hereby demand that Spain shall at once withdraw her land and naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters. The resolutions then go on to empower the President to employ the Army and the Navy of the United States to carry them into effect. It will be observed, if you compare the recommendations of the President with the recommendations of the committee, that there are some differences of opinion as to what should be done, although we are in accord as to the main great purpose that is to be accom- plished; for it will be observed, Mr. President, that the committee have differed from the President upon the question of recogniz- ing the independence of the people of Cuba, and as the Senate has been advised by the minority, or rather by the supplemental re- port just made by the Senator from Indiana [Mr. Turpie] , a mi- nority of that committee, consisting of five members out of eleven, have reiK)rted that in their judgment there should be added to the resolutions reported by the committee another resolution recog- nizing the Republic of Cuba as the tfue and lawful government of that island. Mr. FRYE. Were there not 4 out of 11? Mr. GRAY. Yes; 4 out of 11. Mr. FORAKER. I thought there were 5. I beg your pardon. The report wiU show. Mr. FRYE. There were only 4. Mr. FORAKER. Four, is it? I thought there were 5. 32S9 Mr. CULLOM. No; the minority report is signed by the Sena- tor from Indiana [Mr. Tuhpie], the Senator from Texas [Mr. ]\IiLLSl , the Senator from Virginia [Mr. DanielJ, and the Senator from Ohio [Mr. Forakek]. Mr. FORAKER. No matter how many signed it, the minority report is there. I signed it, and I stand here to speak in belialf of that resolution so recommended by the minority of that commit- tee, as well as to speak in favor of all the resolutions rGcommended by the committee unanimously. The committee, Mr. President, in addition to this provision for recognizing the independence of the people of Cuba, have further declared that the time has come not for further negotiations but for Spain to withdraw her land and naval forces. In other words, they have differed with the President as to the form and charac- ter of that intervention. I shall speak presently with more particularity as to the ques- tion of our right at this time to recognize the independence of the people of Cuba and to recognize the independence of that govern- ment. I want first to speak briefly of the question of interven- tion Mr. MORGAN. Will the Senator from Ohio allow me? Mr. FORAKER. Yes. Mr. MORGAN. I desire to call the attention of the Senator to the fact that the resolution provides that the Government of Spain shall at once relinquish its authority and government in the Island of Cuba and also withdraw its land and naval forces. Mr. FORAKER. I thank the Senator from Alabama for call- ing my attention to the text of the resolution. I was not looking at the resolution, although I had it in my hand, and Avas not en- deavoring to quote from it, but only to state tlie substance of it. As I was remarking, Mr. President, I desire first to speak of the difference between the Exectitive and the committee, as shown by these recommendations, as to the form and character of interven- tion. The committee differed with the President in the first place because, in the judgment of the committee, the time had come when no further negotiations were in order. In the language of the President employed in this message, the time for action, in the judgment of the committee, had come, and the committee felt that while they had the matter under consideration they would provide for action, immediate and specific, and, as they believed, in char- acter and keeping with the desires of the American people in respect to this matter. In the second place, Mr. President, the committee, or at least some members of the committee, had grave doubts as to the right of Congress to confer upon the Chief Executive of the nation the conditional exercise of the war-making power. Congress alone is invested with the war-making power. The proposition of the President was that he should take effective steps, such of course as he might deem effective, and that if he should fail to secure a cessation of hostilities in Cuba, then and in that event he was au- thorized to employ the Army and the Navy of the United States. In other words, make war in the condition or contingency that his negotiations should fail. I, for one at least, think the com- mittee generally doubted the legality of that proposition. Then, Mr. President, as to the establishment of a stable govern- ment by the President of the United States in the Island of Cuba, the committee were of the opinion that there might possibly be grave doubt as to the right of Congress to empower the President 3229 of the United States or for the Congress itself to create and es- tablish a stable government in the Island of Cuba for the benefit of the Cuban people. However that may be, after the committee had declared that the people of the Island of Cuba are and of right ought to be free and independent, the proposition that the President of the United States or the Congress of the United States or any other exterior power should establish for that independent people a government stable or otherwise was inconsistent. If a people be free and independent, as we have in this first proposition declared that the people of the Island of Cuba are, they, and they alone, have power to establish their government. Independence and sovereignty go hand in hand, and any people who have independence have the capacity and the right to exer- cise sovereignty, and it is a denial of independence to say in the next breath after you have declared it that we will undertake, or we do hereby reserve the right and power, to establish for that independent people a government such as in our judgment and opinion may be stable. I mention these points of difference only because it is absolutely essential to an intelligent discussion that we should know what are the issues which have been joined. Without knowing what are the questions of difl'erence we are groping in the dark. As I said a moment ago, I do not propose, beyond the mere state- ment of these grounds of differences with the Executive as to in- tervention, to discuss that proposition. I ret am therefore at once to a discussion of the question whether or not the committee is justified in recommending the recognition at this time of the independence of the people of Cuba. Whether or not a people who have revolted and rebelled against a sovereign power and are striving for independence are entitled to be recognized as an independent state is always a question of fact as well as a question of law. Before you can tell what law is applicable to any particular case you must ascertain what the facts are. What are the facts with respect to Cuba? Fortu- nately in answering that question I need not long or tediouslj'^ de- tain the Senate. Not only from the newspapers and other sources of information, but from Presidential messages, from the last one received, and especially and particularly from the very able re- port of the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations, we have been fully advised. Moreover, the whole country and the whole world are familiar with the Cuban question. All who know the facts know that for more than three years now war has been in progress in that island — bloody, fierce, ciuel, destructive war; destructive in an unusual degree both to life and property; and all the world knows, too, that from the very beginning of that struggle down to the present time Sxtain has been, as to all essential and important mat- ters, uniformly unsuccessful. The President was justified when he said, in the sentence I read from his message a mome^it ago, that it is now manifest to all the world that the purpose of Spain to recover her lost sovereignty can never be attained. She started out with the idea that she would crush that rebellion with a blow. In that behalf she concentrated in that devoted island practic;ally the entire military power of the Kingdom. She had there at one "time and for months more than 200,000 of her most capable soldiers, commanded by her generals who have been most Bucoessful in other fields; bu,t it was all in vain. That tremendous army proved absolutely insufficient to conquer and subdue the •6220 insnvi^eiits and restore peace. Finding how unavailing that land of effort was, she then resorted to persuasion— to diplomacy. She tendered autonomy, a new schemo of government— home rule— a scheme with respect to which the senior Senator from Maine [Mr. Hale], speaking on this floor a few weeks ago, said it was the broadest, the most liberal, the most generous charter of liberty ever tendered by any sovereignty to a dependency. Whether it was or not is immaterial; it so impressed him. But however it may be, assuming that it was so, the people of Cuba who have risen in rebellion against the sovereign power indig- nantly spurned and refused it. That elTort to conquer them was unavailing. Another policy has been resorted to of which I should speak — the policy of extermination, extermination by starvation, a policy so cruel, so unmerciful, so barbarous in its practices and in its I'e- sults as absolutely to shock and horrify all Christendom. More than 200,000 lives have perished in Cuba as victims of that policy alone. While we sit here this afternoon deliberating, 200,000 other lives are perishing from it. Mr. President, notwithstanding the hurling of all this great force against the insurgents in Cuba, notwithstanding this effort of diplomacy and statecraft, this promise of reforms in govern- ment, notwithstanding the murder, for it is nothing else, of hun- dreds of thousands of men, women, and children in that island, to which I have referred, the insurgents stand to-day more defi- ant, more powerful, more assured of ultimate success and more determined to do, and dare, and die, if need be, in behalf of inde- pendence than ever before since this struggle commenced. They were never so strong as now. They control absolutely more than one-half of that territory. More than 400,000 of the population of the island recognize no government except only their civil gov- ernment. Thej' have an army in the field, trained veterans they have become, numbering thirty-five or forty thousand men, well armed and well equipped, more invincible than at any time here- tofore; and as an offset to that success on the part of the Cubans that which the President indicates has been occurring with re- spect to Spain. Her army of more than 200,000 men has dwindled to from fifty to sixty thousand effectives, poorly disciplined and poorly drilled, and that army of aggression and offensive operations has ceased to be an offensive and aggressive army. For months it has been only an army of occupation, holding on to the fortified cities, control- ling nothing in the island beyond the range of their guns, not daring to venture out beyond the walls of those cities and remain there over night for fear old Gomez would capture them and take them off into his camp. Mr. President, in other words it is now plain to all the world, plain to Spain herself, for she has been for months, and is now by every steamer, recalling her troops from there, that she is no longer attended in her efforts to subdue that island by any reason- able expectation or hope of ultimate success. That being the case, such being the facts, what is the law of the case? I read from Hall on International Law. It is a standard and a modern authority. It has been written in the light not only of ancient but of modern precedents. I shall not stop to read all of the text. Mr. STEWART. From what page does the Senator from Ohio intend to read? Mr. FORAKER. Page 92. He tells us that whenever the 8 struggle on the part of the former sovereign becomes "so inade- quate as to offer no reasonable ground for supposing that success may ultimately be obtained, it is not enoiagh to keep alive the rights of the state, and so to prevent foreign countries from fall- ing under an obligation to recognize as a state the community claiming to have become one." I need not read other authorities, but I challenge any Senator •who may enter into this discussion to find an authority incon- sistent with the declaration which I have read, who is accepted as a standard authority among those who are competent to judge of international-law writers. That is the rule; whenever the struggleon the part of the sovereign to recover lost authority, lost sovereignty, has ceased to be attended with a reasonable hope or expectation of success, then other coun- tries have a right to recognize the independence of the opposing people. If I have been talking to any purpose, I have made it plain by the statement of facts I have given that no longer are the struggles of Spain in the Island of Cuba attended with any rea- sonable hope or expectation of success. That being true, Mr. President, according to the principles of international law we have a right, as the committee have reported, and it is our duty to recognize the independence of the people of Cuba. But suppose something is lacking in the Cuban case to justify ns in claiming that they are absolutely free and independent, will not that which may be lacking, whatever it may be, be sup- plied when the United States of America intervenes, as we pro- pose to do by this same resolution? Intervention goes here, according to this resolution, as it does naturally, hand in hand with independence. When this demand which we all agree is to be made, thgt Spain shall withdraw, is made upon her, that min- ute she must either abdicate, which would leave the island free and independent to the satisfaction, I imagine, of the most hostile mind to the recognition of independence, or else, if she does not abdicate, she must then give battle— declare war; and what American can doubt, or does doubt, the ultimate result of war, if we are so unfortunate as to have war? Will it not result in the absolute freedom and independence of the people of the Island of Cuba? Unquestionably so; for we expect to prosecute a war to triumphant success, if we are driven into one. So, therefore, I say, upon authority, in strict consonance with the rules and principles of international law, it is the duty of the Government of the United States, as well as the right and privi- lege of this Government, now, at this very moment, when we pass a resolution to intervene, to recognize the independence of the people of that island. Mr. President, I now wish to speak of the resolution which the minority of the committee favor. The minority of the committee are not satisfied simply to recognize the independence of the peo- ple of that island. We want to recognize also, and we appeal to Senators in this Chamber to stand by us in that proposition, the government set up by the insurgents, referred to by tiie President in his message as the '"so-called" Cuban Republic. We think this government ought to be recognized in the first place because if the people of Cuba are free and independent, as we have agreed unanimously in the committee they are, who made them free and indei>endent? Did they become free and independ- ent actiitg as a mob? exerting themselves in a state of anarchy? without any political organization? No! Such wonderful achieve- ments as stand to their credit we all know could not have been accomplished without concert of action, without political organi- zation, and they had it in the Republic of Cuba. That was their civil government, to which the military force commanded by Gomez is subordinate. Mr. President, there are a great many other reasons why we should recognize that government. I hope I shall be able to men- tion a number of them. We ought to be willing to recognize it because of its form and character. It is a republican form of government. It is a gov- ernment based on a written constitution, in which the sev'eral departments of the government are established and the powers of the various departments and officials are prescribed. It has a legislative, an executive, and a Judicial department. The legisla- tive branch of the government is elected by popular vcJte. In Cuba, mider this constitution, thev have universal suffra<'-e. Every man or woman who owes allegiance to the Cuban Govern- ment has a right to go to the ballot box and be heard in determin- ing what the government shall be as to the personnel of its offi- cials. The house of representatives, elected by the people in this manner, selects the president and vice-president and the cabinet; and what character of government have they selected? Let me call your attention for a moment to the character of these officials. I have heard that government referred to here as though it were made up of a lot of inconsequential nobodies. I say, without at- tempting to disparage anybody, the president and vice-president of the Cuban Republic, for intellectual strength and power and vigor, for high character, for unquestioned ability, for statesman- ship, will compare favorably with the President and Vice-Presi- dent of the United States of America. Than Bartolome Maso there is no more accomplished gentleman, probably, on the West- ern Hemisphere; a man of large means, a man of large experience in public affairs, a man who— and I mention this to show his character— when the war broke out called in all his creditors and paid every one of them in cash the full sum owing, then turned over the keys to his tenants and departed for the field. He is now president of that republic, after having served two years as vice- president under Cisneros, recently elected as such by the general assembly chosen by popular vote. With this distinguished president is associated in office as vice- president Dr. Domingo Mendez Capote, who was professor of law in the Havana University for years before called to this position. I have taken pains to find out about these people. They are men of distinguished reputation, men of high character, men of great learning and ability; and the secretaries, if it was worth while to take the time to pass them in review, would be shown to be men of the same general class and reputation and character. So much for the personnel of the Cuban Republic. Mr. President, what has this Government done? I said a while ago if- the people of Cuba are free and indeijendent it is becapse this Governn^ent has acted as their political agency in guiding and directing them to that freedom and independence. It has been stated here that it is a paper government. That is true; but it is a most excellent paper government; it is a most excellent actual government as well. Not only are all the officers elected in tlje manner I have indicateerty. That 82^ 12 is the legal proposition that I assert. I am not going to stop here to read authorities, but I will do so, if it should be challenged. Mr. ELKINS. Will the Senator from Ohio allow a question? Mr. FORAKER. Certainly. Mr. ELKINS. If Gomez takes the island, what wnll become of the mortgage? Mr. FORAKER. It does not make any difference to us what happens if Gomez takes it; but I w'ill tell you what wall happen. If Gomez takes the island by revolution, the whole obligation is wiped out, for those who successfully revolutionize start anew, as revolutionists have started anew from the beginning of the world, except only as to obligations which they themselves might create. Mr. ELKINS. Let me ask the Senator one further question. If we should take the island by war, would not those obligations be wiped out as well? Mr. FORAKER. Do you want to take the island by war? Mr. ELKINS. That is not the question. Mr. FORAKER. It is the question that I put. Why do you ask me to discuss propositions not involved in this debate? It is because, in my judgment, this intervention is to be deliberately turned from intervention on the ground of humanity into an ag- gressive conquest of territory. Mr. ELKINS. That does not answer the question. Mr. FORAKER. I do not care. I am not going to answer it now. I am not going to answer it because it does not belong in this case. I can not discuss every kind of a question that a Sen- ator by an interrogatory may seek to put before me, especially not when in the very next "breath he will refuse or at least evade to say whether he wants this Government to acquire that island by conquest or not. I say here as a principle of international law, if the United States Government goes down there and drives Spain out and puts somebody else in, forming " a stable government " of her making, that ' ' stable government " will become responsible, and the United States of America will become responsible. I will answer you further now. You would not answer me. 1 thought probably if I dallied with you a while yoii would. If the United States of America takes that island by intermeddling, as w^'iters on inter- national law call it, with the affairs of another, she, too, will be- come responsible, and what is the consequence? The United States of America steps in behind four hundred million of Spanish- Cuban 4 per cent bonds. You do not admit the proposition. It is possible that it is open to some debate. I will concede for the sake of the argument it is. But who holds these $400,000,0-)0 of bonds? I iTuderstand they are held largely in Germany, largely in France, and largely in the United States. Does anybody imagine, Mr. President, if we should go into Cuba and there establish a stable government for which we woiild be responsible, that the present Emperor of Germany would hesi- tate one moment to say to the peojile of the LTnited States, ' ' You have taken by conquest the revenues that Spain had a right to pledge and did pledge to pay the principal and interest of bonds due to my subjects, and I will now look to you? " Does anybody doubt that he would do it? No; nobody does wiio judges without bias, I feel free to assert. And if Spain and France would make such a demand on the United States, the distinguished Senator 1220 13 from West Virginia, I imagine, would be ono of the first to say, "We ought to pay up rather than have any fighting." Mr. ELKINS. I do not think it ia fair to put a question to me and not allow me to answer it. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cockrell in the chair). Does the Senator from Ohio yield to the Senator from West Vir- ginia? Mr. FORAKER. Certainl}-. Mr. ELKINS. I say to the Senator that I would not. There ia no soundness in his proposition. There is no authority in the world, and I challenge the Senator to show anything that gives authority, to support his proposition in law— any legal authority. Mr. FORAKER. I have a very good one right here. Mr. ELKINS. Read it. Mr. FORAKER. And I can give you a great many other au- thorities as they have been given by writers on the subject of inter- national law, for there is not one, from Grotius down to Lawrence, who does not assert that doctrine. Hall says, at page 105: When a State ceases to exist by absorption in another State, the latter in the same way is the inheritor of all local rights, obligations, and jsroperty. The whole State is not here absorbed, but that which is to be absorbed is that which is subject to the lien. I might cite you many more authorities if I had thought it worth while to bring them here and tax the patience of the Senate with them. Mr. ELKINS. That does not answer the question. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Ohio yield to the Senator from West Virginia? Mr. FORAKER. I am always glad to hear from the Senator from West Virginia, for he is so very good-natured. But, Mr. President, to go back to what I was discussing, I was just about saying, suppose, for the sake of the argument, the Senator from West Virginia is right to the extent that it is a debatable proposi- tion, we must consider this as a practical as well as a theoretical question. Treating it as a practical question, do you suppose that the rulers of Germany, France, and other countries whose subjects are inttsrested as holders of these bonds would hesitate to call us to account? I do not hesitate to say they would. I do not hesitate to believe they would; and then we would have other and far more serious complications. I want to avoid them. If we recognize the independence of the Republic of Cuba, that liability is avoided. We absolutely estop evei-ybody from making such a demand upon us; we take no responsibility. Those peo- ple, according to our resolutions, have already accomplished their independence without any help from this country, but rather iu spite of all this country has done to patrol our coasts in the in- terests of Spain. They are already in a situation where they can set up their government, and all we do in going there is to recognize the existence of that government and act with our natural allies. Ah, but saj's somebody, when you go there, if you recognize the existence of that government, j^ou are compelled to report to Gomez, and there will be a question at once between General Milas and General Gomez as to who should command. If there be any government in the Island of Cuba to-day, it is either the Spanish Government or it is the Re^public of Cuba, and when General Miles goes to Cuba I would rather have him report to General Gomez than to General Blanco. 3229 14 Mr. President, for all these reasons, which I am conscious I have most imperfectly advanced, I believe that it is the duty of the United States Government this very day, not only to intervene, but at the same time to recognize the independence of the people of that island and the independence of the government which the Cubans have established. I for one say to you frankly I would be ashamed to see the United States recognizing the independence of the people of Cuba and in the same resolution turning their backs upon heroic, grand old Gomez and his compatriots. For my part my voice is against any such proposition. Mr. President, I have not at any time had any trouble in my mind about independence and intervention, but I have had this kind of a trouble in my mind: The trouble has been whether it should be independence and intervention or independence and a declaration of war outright. I think, logically sneaking, it ought to be a declaration of war, and I would be standing here arguing for such a declaration if I were not of the opinion that armed in- tervention will give us an opportunity to suitably punish Spain for the destruction of the Maine and 266 of our officers and sailors. [Applause in the galleries.] The PRESIDING OFFICER. Order must be observed in the galleries or they \n\\ be cleared. Mr. FORAKER. We have been told, Mr. President, that the board of inquiry appointed by our Government by its report has estopped us from such a declaration. I dispute it. It is true that the board of inquiry found that they could not tell what person or persons were responsible for that disaster, but the contest shows that in that connection they had reference only to the question what person or persons pressed the button that sent the electric current on its fateful mission; and that, Mr. President, is imma- terial in the light of the other facts unequivocally found by that board of inquiry. That board of inquiry has officially found— and it is a most con- servative report throughout; as the President well says in his message, all Americans have absolute confidence in the truthful- ness of it— that board of inquiry found that our ship went into that harbor on a friendly mission; that the Spanish authorities were advised in advance of her coming; that she was coming not for warlike purposes, but only on a mission of peace, to cultivate better relations with Spain— a courteous visit in recognition of the friendly relations, of which we have heard so much, between Spain and this country. The court further find that when our ship reached the entrance to the harbor she was taken in charge by a Spanish official— the harbor pilot— and by him towed to buoy No. 4 and there made fast, and there stationed during her stay in that harbor, and that while she was there stationed she was destroyed by a submarine mine. That is the finding. What, Mr. President, is a submarine mine? Did any Senator ever hear of any private individual having submarine mines on sale, or of any private individual handling submarine mines, es- pecially in a territory where war is present? And does not every Senator know that under the laws then in force in Havana, by the edict of Weyler issued on the ICth day of February. 1896, no pri- vate individual could have in his possession any kind of an explo- sive, not even a pound of gunpowder, without being liable to the death penalty? Do you imagine that any private individuals, with £239 15 that kind of a law in force there, were engaged in handling sub- marine mines? No, it is an absolute absurdity, it seems to me, for us to imagine that the submarine mine that destroyed the battle ship Muhie was anything else than a governmental implement and agency of war. Suppose, for illustration, instead of that ship being destroyed by a submarine mine, as she was, she had been sunk by a shot tired from Morro Castle, under the guns of which she was buoved. Wonld any Senator in such instance imagine that there could be any (juestion about that piece of artillery being a governmental agency and implement of war? Would anybody stand up and