of American citizens and will abate none of its efforts to bring about by peaceful agencies a peace which shall be honorable and enduring. If it shall hereafter appear to be a duty imposed by our obligations to ourselves, to civilization and humanity, to intervene with force, it shall be without fault on our part, and only because the necessity for

In many places, where there are no railroads, this primitive method of transportation

is used.

such action will be so clear as to command the support and approval of the civilized world.'

"The long trial has proved that the object for which Spain has waged the war cannot be attained. The fire of insurrection may flame or may smoulder with varying season, but it has not been, and it is plain that it cannot be, extinguished by present methods.

"The only hope of relief and repose from a condition which can

no longer be endured is the enforced pacification of Cuba.

"In the name of humanity, in the name of civilization, in behalf of endangered American interests which give us the right and the duty to speak and to act, the war in Cuba must stop.

In Conclusion the President Asks Congress to Empower Him to Secure Termination of Hostilities, and to Use the Army and Navy.

"In view of the facts and these considerations I ask Congress to take measures to secure a full and final termination of hostilities between 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, insuring peace and tranquillity and the security of its citizens as well as our own, and to use the military and naval forces of the United States as may be necessary for these purposes. And in the interest of humanity, and to aid in preserving the lives of the starving people of the island, I recommend that the distribution of food and supplies be continued, and that an appropriation be made out of the public treasury to supplement the charity of our citizens.

"The issue is now with the Congress. It is a solemn responsibility. We have exhausted every effort to relieve the intolerable condition of affairs which is at our doors. Prepared to execute every obligation imposed upon me by the Constitution and the law, I await your action.

"Yesterday, and since the preparation of the foregoing message, official information was received by me that the latest decree of the Queen Regent of Spain directs General Blanco, in order to prepare and facilitate peace, to proclaim a suspension of hostilities, the duration and details of which have not yet been communicated to me.

"This fact, with every other pertinent consideration, will, I am sure, have your just and careful attention in the solemn deliberations upon which you are about to enter. If this measure attains a successful result, then our aspirations as a Christian, peace-loving people will be realized.

"If it fails it will be only another justification for our contemplated

action.

"WILLIAM MCKINLEY.

"EXECUTIVE MANSION, April 11, 1898."

The President's message was accompanied by the consular correspondence. It was prepared in response to a resolution of inquiry adopted by both the House and the Senate. It covers the communications of Consul-General Lee, at Havana; Consul McGarr, at

Cienfuegos; Consul Brice, at Matanzas; Consul Hyatt, at Santiago de Cuba, and Consul Barker, at Sagua La Grande. These consular communications cover near sixty thousand words, and deal largely

Doors and windows are fitted with stout iron bars, both as a means of defence and to secure privacy.

with the distress and suffering which exist in all the districts; but General Lee reports fully upon the decrees of the government in reference to autonomy and other political phases of the situation. General Lee's correspondence runs from November 17, 1897, to April

I, 1898.

He commences with statements showing the futility of all efforts to help the reconcentrados, and then, after intimating that it would be well for several warships to be in the neighborhood of Cuban waters, he dwells upon the anti-autonomy position of Spanish officers, the great misery and death in rural towns, the refined cruelty toward the starving Cubans; and Consul Barker and the other consuls draw revolting pictures of human destitution and death.

To those who desired the country to rush blindly into war, the President's message was a sore disappointment. Belligerent resolutions offered both in the Senate and the House, which played effectively to the galleries and doubtless impressed deeply many constituents at home, went to appropriate committees never to be heard of again; and certain newspapers in the land worked themselves into a rage against the calm gentleman in the White House. Amidst these stirring events the Administration was hoping for the best and prepared for the worst.

In the Senate the following resolutions were passed after a heated discussion :

"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 battleship, 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 II, 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 assembled:

"First-That the people of the island of Cuba are, and of right ought to be, free and independent, and that the government of the United States hereby recognizes the Republic of Cuba as the true and lawful government of that island.

"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 govern

ment 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 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.

"Fourth-That the United States hereby disclaims any disposition or intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction or control over said island, except for the pacification thereof, and asserts its determination when that is accomplished to leave the government and the control of the island to the people."

The differences between the House and Senate bills threatened to cause a deadlock; but finally a joint resolution was passed, which was substantially the Senate bill with the recognition clause omitted. This was signed promptly by the President, and on April 20, 1898, this government sent an ultimatum to Minister Woodford at Madrid to be presented to the Spanish government, at the same time taking the precaution to present the same communication to the Spanish Minister at Washington. We give the text of the ultimatum and Minister Woodford's dispatch telling of his summary dismissal from Spain:

"WOODFORD, Minister, Madrid:

"April 20, 1898.

"You have been furnished with the text of a joint resolution voted by the Congress of the United States on the nineteenth instant, approved to-day, in relation to the pacification of the island of Cuba. In obedience to that act, the President directs you to immediately communicate to the government of Spain said resolution, with the formal demand of the government of the United States 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. In taking this step the United States hereby disclaims any disposition or intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction or control over said island, except for the pacification thereof, and asserts its determination when that is accomplished to