Excerpt from Independence of the People of Cuba: Speech of Hon. William E. Mason, of Illinois, in the Senate of the United States, Tuesday, April 12, 1808 Mr. President: I should not take any time in the discussion or make any remarks upon the message of the President which was received yesterday if the Committee on Foreign Relations were ready to report. I believe the country is anxious that we should act promptly. I shall not take one moment of time that seems to me ought to be consumed in voting upon the pending question, nor shall I take the time away from any other Senator who de sires to speak upon that subject, for I have already expressed myself except upon the questions of law and precedent as they were recited yesterday in the President's message. Mr. President, the great hindrance to civilization has been the disposition of humanity to fail to take advantage of the experience of others. In this great crisis it would seem the part of wisdom for one inexperienced in the art of statecraft to see what some of the men of our own country have suggested and stood for under similar circumstances. With this thought in view, then, of learn ing from unselfish men who are recorded in the annals of our na tion as great and good men, inspired with the love of liberty, I am sure, Mr. President, I may be forgiven if I appeal to the records and to the very words of Henry Clay, and to the records and con duct of the Congress of the United States. As before announced to you in language which could not be misunderstood, I am for war, and have been since the hour our flag was lowered in Havana Harbor and the lives of our citizens taken by the Government of Spain. But I am and have been for this declaration of war only as a means of securing an honorable peace. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from Affairs in Cuba: Speech of Hon. Charles W. Fairbanks, of Indiana, in the Senate of the United States, Thursday, April 14, 1898 For the recognition of the independence of the people of Cuba, demanding that the Government of Spain relinquish its authority and government in the Island of Cuba, and to withdraw its land and naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters, and directing the President of the United States to use the land and naval forces of the United States to carry these resolutions into effect. 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 battle ship, with 266 of its officers and crew, while on a friendly visit in the harbor of Havana, and can not longer be endured, as has been set forth by the President of the United States in his message to Congress of April 11, 1898, upon which the action of Congress was invited: Therefore, Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, First. That the people of the Island of Cuba are, and of right ought to be, free and independent. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.