t the same time, by moderate means, to
restore peace in Cuba. The Spanish population of Cuba opposed autonomy
and made the establishment of autonomous governments a farce. In January
there were riots in Havana among the loyal subjects. Outside the Spanish
lines the rebels laughed at autonomy, for they were determined to have
independence or nothing. Woodford, in touch with the Spanish Government,
believed that in the long run the Spanish people would let the Queen
Regent go beyond autonomy to independence, and that with patience Cuba
might be relieved of Spanish control.

There was no positive news for Congress in December, 1897, but by
February the conditions in Cuba had become the most interesting current
problem. The New York _Journal_ obtained and published a private letter
written by the Spanish Minister, De Lome, in which McKinley was
characterized as a temporizing politician. The Minister had no sooner
been recalled than the Maine, a warship that had been detached from the
North Atlantic Squadron, and sent to Cuba to safeguard American citizens
there, was destroyed by an explosion in the harbor of Havana, on
February 15, 1898. There was no evidence connecting the destruction of
the Maine with any person, but unscrupulous newspapers made capital out
of it, using the catch-phrase, "Remember the Maine," to inflame a public
mind already aroused by sympathy and indignation. After February, only a
determined courage could have withstood the demand for intervention and
a Spanish war.

The negotiations with Spain continued rapidly in the two months after
the loss of the Maine. McKinley avoided an arbitral inquiry into the
accident, urged by Spain, but pressed increasingly for an end of
concentration, for relief for the suffering population, and for full
self-government. He did not ask independence for Cuba, and every demand
that he made was assented to by Spain. Notwithstanding this, on April
11, 1898, he sent the Cuban correspondence to Congress, urged an
intervention, and turned the control of the situation over to a body
that had for two years been clamoring for forcible interference. Nine
days later Congress resolved, "That the people of the Island of Cuba
are, and of right ought to be, free and independent." On April 21 the
Spanish War began.

The administrative branches of the Government had made some
preparations for war before the declaration. The navy was small but
modern. It dated from the early eighties, wh