Page:Speeches, correspondence and political papers of Carl Schurz, Volume 5.djvu/502

478 among us. The serious differences of opinion begin with the question whether those colonies or any of them shall be annexed to the United States, or whether they shall be made independent, to govern themselves, or whether other arrangements shall be made to provide for their future.

The question whether any of them shall be annexed to the United States presents itself under three different aspects: (1) as a question of morals, of honor; (2) as a question of institutional policy; and (3) as a question of commercial interests.

As to the question of morals, of honor, we have to remember that President McKinley in his annual message in December last, in discussing various methods of solving the Cuban difficulty, made the following emphatic declaration: “I speak not of forcible annexation, for that cannot be thought of. That by our code of morals would be criminal aggression.” It will not be denied that although speaking of Cuban affairs, the President thus stated a principle of general application. It would be absurd to say that to annex Cuba by means of force would be “criminal aggression,” but that it would be something quite justifiable to annex Porto Rico or the Philippine Islands by the same means.

We have also to remember that the war with Spain was virtually initiated by a resolution adopted by Congress, April 19th, which declared that the people of Cuba should be free and independent, that, moved by a sense of duty, the United States demanded the withdrawal of the Spanish forces from Cuba, that the President should use the Army and Navy and Militia “to the extent as may be necessary to carry these resolutions into effect”—that is, to liberate Cuba and that such liberation and the pacification of Cuba accomplished, the United States, emphatically disclaiming any disposition or intention to