Show BOERS AND CUBANS As to Citizenship and the Control of Their Sovereign Affairs Editor Tribune You have lately de fined the status of the Boers at war I with S Great Britain as Internationally subjects pf Great Britain Your definition I believe is correct and yet It is puzzling and if you will help me to understand the matter correctly matcl I will appreciate your kindness What puzzles me in particular is this l the Boer areor rather were British subjects what was their country Was it not British territory And if it was British territory why did the British when they Invaded It make proclama tions annexing the same to the British empire The fact that the British formally annexed these Statesor whatever they were would seem to indicate that they did not regard them as belonging to the empire Then If these lands were not British territory and their inhabitants were British sub jects to what nation did the lands be long Were they part British and part Boei Internationally British and domestically do-mestically Boor They were of course Their foreign affairs if they had any were taken caie of by the British foreign for-eign office so that they had no direct relations with foreign countries but could stay at home mind their own business and talk their own language so long as they were poor Interna tonal they were dependent and domestically do-mestically Independent All of that is quite clear But sailing across the Atlantic and drawing n parallel with Cuba Is where the puzzle begins The relations nf thr Piiiimin In i hn United States are very much like those lelh of the Boom to the British empire if I understand them correctly Their foreign affairs arc to bo taken care of by the State department at Washing ton just as the foreign affairs of the Boers were taken caro of by the foreign for-eign office at London Now us this arrangement ar-rangement made the Boers Intern tionally British subject does It not make the Cubans Internationally American citizens Intelnatonaly not And 1C Cuba In Internationally dependent upon the United States can It be truthfully said that Cuba Is in dependent and that Uncle Sam has redeemed his pledge with reference to that matter and no war of conquest con-quest 1 You are aware of the fact that recently there ban been a great flap ping of wings and much crowing among those Journals of the United Unled States whose mission it is to square the administration and the party with the country Lhe occasion for this was the alleged fact that Uncle I Sam under Republicanism had re deemed his pledge In fact one Utah paper was so enthused over tho action o Uncle Sam as to come forth edi 1 tonally turning handsprings and do mandlng that the fact be made the subject of a celebraiion Uncle Sams redeeming his pledgo being such an un UI heard rule of occurrence under Republican ruleNow Now haD Uncle Sam redeemed his pledge Internationally Can Cuba be Independent I internatlonallv and leave Its international affairs wholly In the care of Washington I seems tome to-me that tho status of the Boers and the Cubans IS exactly alike Internationally Internation-ally 0 and that If 1 the Boers are Brit I 0 ish subjects Internationally the Cubans I Cu-bans arc not Independent internationally ally And thlH being the case I wo havo played n most contemptible farce with reference to Cuban Independence Independ-ence from the moment that Capt tle 11l l Slgsbcc wired that public opinion should be suspended respecting tho Malno distaster l I I ammistaken I would be very glad to bo net right Respectfully JAMES V STEWART Plain City April 23rd First of all note the fundamental error as to Cuba the United States Is not to have control of Cubas foreign affairs the only color for such an idea Is the fact that we exact from tho Cubans a pledge that they wont give themselves jiAay to any foreign power pow-er get back under Spanish dominion for example As to the Boer matter the Boers were citizens of their own country I coun-try the Orange Free State and the Transvaal being selfgoverning so far as their internal affairs were concerned Editor Tribune 0 |