THE FOUNDERS OF CUBAN LIBERTY.

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entitled to belligerency, and that the United States desire the independence of the Island.

What more could be expected in a year? And Tomas Estrada Palma has done this in his quiet, unassuming way, without flattering anybody, without the dignity of his country suffering. The following address will give an idea of the stand Palma has taken in this revolution:

TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES:

'The persistency with which the American press has, during the last few days, been treating of supposed administrative reforms to be introduced in Cuba by the Government of Spain compels me to request the publication of the following declarations which I make in behalf of my Government, of the army of liberation of Cuba, and of the Cuban Revolutionary Party.

Not Reforms but Independence.

"The question of the proposed reforms is not a matter which at all concerns those who have already established an independent government in Cuba and have resolved to shrink from no sacrifice of property or life in order to emancipate the whole Island from the Spanish yoke. If the Spanish residents of the Island, who are favored by the Spanish Government with all sorts of privileges and monopolies, and if the handful of Cubans, too pusillanimous or too proud to acknowledge their error, or a few foreigners guided only by selfish interests, are satisfied that Cuba should remain under Spanish domination, we, who fight under the flag of the solitary star, we, who already constitute the Republic of Cuba, and belong to a free people with its own Government and its own laws, are firmly resolved to listen to no compromise and to treat with Spain on the basis of absolute independence for Cuba.

"If Spain has power to exterminate us, then let her convert the Island into a vast cemetery; if she has not, and wishes to terminate the war before the whole country is reduced to ashes, then let her adopt the only measure that will put an end to it and recognize our

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independence. Spain must know by this time that while there is a single living Cuban with dignity-and there are many thousands of them-there will not be peace in Cuba, nor even the hope of it.

"All good causes must finally triumph, and ours is a good cause. It is the cause of justice treated with contempt, of right suppressed by force, and of the dignity of a people offended to the last degree.

We Cubans have a thousandfold more reason in our endeavors to free ourselves from the Spanish yoke than the people of the thirteen colonies had when, in 1776, they rose in arms against the British Government.

The American Revolution and the Cuban.

"The people of these colonies were in full enjoyment of all the rights of man; they had liberty of conscience, freedom of speech, liberty of the press, the right of public meeting, and the right of free locomotion; they elected those who governed them, they made their own laws, and, in fact, enjoyed the blessings of self-government. They were not under the sway of a Captain-General with arbitrary powers, who, at his will, could imprison them, deport them to penal colonies, or order their execution, even without the semblance of a court-martial. They did not have to pay a permanent army and navy that they might be kept in subjection, nor to feed a swarm of hungry employees yearly sent over from the metropolis, to prey upon the country.

"They were never subjected to a stupid and crushing customs tariff which compelled them to go to the home markets for millions of merchandise annually which they could buy much cheaper elsewhere; they were never compelled to cover a budget of $26,000,000 or $30,000,000 a year without the consent of the taxpayers, and for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the army and navy of the oppressor, to pay the salaries of thousands of worthless European employees, the whole interest on a debt not incurred by the colony, and other expenditures from which the Island received no benefit whatever; for out of all those millions only the paltry sum of $700,000 was apparently applied for works of internal improvement,

and one-half of which invariably went into the pockets of the Spanish employees.

"We have thrown ourselves into the struggle advisedly and deliberately; we knew what we would have to face, and we decided unflinchingly to persevere until we should emancipate ourselves from the Spanish Government. And we know that we are able to do it, as we know that we are competent to govern ourselves.

Capable of Managing Organizations.

"Among other proofs which could be adduced of the capacity of the Cuban white and colored to rule themselves is the strong organization of the Cuban revolutionary party in America. It is composed of more than 20,000 Cubans living in different countries of the New World, and formed into clubs, the members of which yearly elect their leader. This organization has an existence of over five years, during which every member has strictly discharged his duties, has respected, without any interruption, the regulations, and obeyed the elected delegate loyally and faithfully. Among the members of the clubs there are several Spaniards, who enjoy the same rights as the Cubans, and who live with them in fraternal harmony.

"This fact, and those of the many Spaniards incorporated into our army, fully demonstrate that our revolution is not the result of personal hatred, but an uprising inspired only by the natural love of liberty and free institutions. The war in Cuba has for its only object the overthrow of Spanish power, and to establish an independent republic, under whose beneficent laws the Spaniards may continue to live side by side with the Cubans as members of the same community and citizens of the same nation. This is our programme, and we strictly adhere to it.

"The revolution is powerful and deeply rooted in the hearts of the Cuban people, and there is no Spanish power-no power in the world -that can stop its march. The war, since General Weyler took command of the Spanish army, has assumed a cruel character; his troops shoot the Cuban prisoners, pursue and kill the sick and wounded, assassinate the unarmed, and burn their houses. The

Cuban troops, on their part, destroy, as a war measure, the machinery and buildings of the sugar plantations, and are firmly resolved not to leave one stone upon another during their campaign.

Let those who can put an end to this war reflect that our liberty is being gained with the blood of thousands of Cuban victims, among whom is numbered José Marti, the apostle and martyr of our revolution. Let them consider that, before the sacred memory of this new redeemer, there is not a single Cuban who will withdraw from the work of emancipation without feeling ashamed of abandoning the flag which, on the 24th of February, was raised by the beloved

master.

"It is time for the Cuban people to satisfy their just desire for a place among the free nations of the world, and let them not be accused if, to accomplish their noble purpose, they are obliged to reduce to ashes the Cuban land. T. ESTRADA PALMA."

Like Franklin, Palma puts his faith in the justice of his cause rather than in the pomp of language, or on the show of dress. He always dresses in black; he uses neither the silk hat nor the evening dress; he wears no jewels; his fourteen-year old boy is by his side, that he may accompany him; he always finds time, as did Lord Nelson in the midst of the perils of the sea and vicissitudes of combat, to write to his lady; every night he kisses the sacred wallet!

Noble and pure soul! Of such are the founders of Cuba's liberty.

Appendix.

Latest Events in the Cuban Revolution, including
Military Operations, Battles, Secret Expedi-

THE

tions and Arrests of American Citizens.

'HE next event of importance following the history of the Cuban conflict narrated in the first part of this volume, was the arrest at Havana of Rev. Alberto J. Diaz, a Baptist missionary and a citizen of the United States. Subsequently, at a public meeting in Philadelphia, Mr. Diaz told a dramatic story of escape from military death in Cuba, of the cunning and brutality of the Spanish General Weyler and his fear of the United States.

Dr. Diaz and his brother were imprisoned in Cuba for preaching civil and religious liberty, and were only saved from death by the services of a member of his church disguised as a Spanish sentry. In Havana the members of the church, founded under the auspices of the Southern Baptist Missionary Society, were divided in sympathy between the Spanish and insurgents. Dr. Diaz preached true liberty to both factions alike, and although often warned against it he persisted in expounding the doctrines of liberty and claimed the right of uttering his honest sentiments.

Said he, "About three o'clock one morning I was aroused by a knock at the door of my house, and when I opened it I saw some fifty or sixty Spanish soldiers, with their guns leveled at me. I quickly shut the door and talked through it. The captain said he must search the house, and I consented to let three men come in. They spent seven hours looking through two trunks full of sermons and other papers, and when the search was completed they had found no incrimi. nating documents.”