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 perishing, 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-ships 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 battleship with 266 of its
officers and crew, while on a friendly visit in the harbor of Ha