At the close of the war of '98 we found our army in
possession of Cuba, and man after man among the European diplomats of
the old school said to me: "Oh, you will never go out of Cuba. You
said you would, of course, but that is quite understood; nations don't
expect promises like that to be kept." As soon as I became President,
I said, "Now you will see that the promise will be kept." We appointed
a day when we would leave Cuba. On that day Cuba began its existence
as an independent republic. Later there came a disaster, there came a
revolution, and we were obliged to land troops again, while I was
President, and then the same gentlemen with whom I had conversed
before said: "Now you are relieved from your promise; your promise has
been kept, and now you will stay in Cuba." I answered: "No, we shall
not. We will keep the promise not only in the letter but in the
spirit. We will stay in Cuba to help it on its feet, and then we will
leave the island in better shape to maintain its permanent independent
existence." And before I left the Presidency Cuba resumed its career
as a separate republic, holding its head erect as a sovereign state
among the other nations of the earth. All that our people want is just
exactly what the Cuban people themselves want--that is, a continuance
of order within the island, and peace and prosperity, so that there
shall be no shadow of an excuse for any outside intervention.
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