avy American interests, it was
inevitable that invasion of American rights should proceed, and the
wrath of the American people be awakened. Our citizens owned large
plantations in Cuba, which were destroyed either by the Spaniards or
the insurgents. Many Americans living in the island or visiting there,
were arrested by the Spanish authorities, and one, at least, Dr. Ruiz,
was murdered in Morro Castle, while another a newspaper correspondent,
was cut to pieces by guerrillas. For Spanish outrages upon the lives
or property of American citizens, claims aggregating $60,000,000 were
on file with the United States Department of State before the
declaration of war. The general sympathy of the American people with
the insurgents, as well as the hope of profit, led to repeated efforts
by our citizens to smuggle arms and munitions of war to the Cubans,
and in time it became necessary to employ a great part of the United
States navy in police duty on the high seas for the purpose of
stopping the filibusters. This service in behalf of Spain was
exceedingly repugnant to the American mind, and contributed greatly to
the growing feeling of irritation toward Spain.

History in coming ages, however, will relate, to the unending horror
and glory of the American people, that humanitarian considerations,
rather than regard for imperiled interests, brought the United States
into a war which most emphatically their people did not desire. The
great New York newspapers, day by day, printed circumstantial accounts
of the frightful sufferings in Cuba. One journal secured a great
number of photographs of scenes amid the starving reconcentrados,
which, greatly enlarged, were publicly exhibited in all parts of the
Union. These pictures, showing the frightful distortions of the human
body as the result of long starvation, showing little children, mere
skeletons, looking mutely down on the dead bodies of their parents,
brought home to the mind of the people the state of life in a
neighboring land as no writing, however brilliant, could. A cry went
up from every part of the United States that a Christian duty was
imposed upon our nation to interfere for the alleviation of such
horrible suffering. Charity came to the rescue with free contributions
of provisions, and Congress made a heavy appropriation of money for
the relief of the Cubans. But everywhere the opinion grew that
philanthropy alone could not right this great wrong, but that the
strong h