File No. 837.911/24.

The American Minister to the Secretary of State.

[Extract.]
No. 719.]

Sir: Referring to previous correspondence in regard to the libelous attacks upon Mr. Gibson and myself by the newspaper “Cuba,” and [Page 413] particularly to my telegram of June 16, I have the honor to transmit herewith enclosed copy and translation of an editorial from “Cuba” of the 13th instant, wherein the paper makes retraction of its charges.

I have [etc.]

A. M. Beaupré.
[Inclosure—Translation.]

the beaupré-gibson-“cuba” incident

our last word.

In view of the magnanimous reception which the press and public opinion have accorded to the speech delivered day before yesterday by Sr. Soto in the House of Representatives in regard to this incident, we wish, on our part, in just interpretation of the sincere and highminded intentions of our editor to throw further light upon the matter and explain what really happened in this unpleasant affair. Our editor has, in fact, already set it forth in his speech in the following words:

I did not mean to wound the reputation of any person, nor to heap discredit upon any respectable representative accredited to our country; it could not occur to me, who fought on the fields of the Revolution and who am mindful of the timeliness of the assistance rendered us by the Americans in putting an end to the Revolution, to direct a wicked, cruel and unjustified attack against the representative of the American nation, which has always commanded our utmost respect. I attempted merely, in the heat of journalistic fray, to defend something that I regarded as sacred and to put a stop to a state of affairs that seemed to me harmful to the interests of my country.

The articles published in our columns upon this regrettable affair were in defense of Cuban interests thought to be jeopardized by the conditions to which Sr. Soto referred in his speech: by the frequent intervention of the American Legation in our affairs—often due, we must confess, to the misconduct of our internal policy.

Subsequently we have become convinced that our fears for the Cuban interests mentioned were unfounded and that the data that had been furnished us for their defense were untrue. We ought to have so stated at the time, in all sincerity; but, as our editor said in his speech:

Unfortunately, when that struggle was begun and a satisfactory solution might have been found, there arose, not the anger, rancor nor malevolence of those whom I attacked, but the untimely, malicious and interested intervention of a compatriot of ours, who sought to take advantage of this little incident, perhaps to reap pecuniary profit from any triumph over me that he might obtain.

In view of the campaign started against us by certain of our contemporaries, had we then come out and made the statement that we now make, advantage would surely have been taken of the occasion to attribute our conduct to fear; and we continued pitilessly to fight. The journalist, who must feel human weaknesses more intensely than others because he feels them publicly, in the presence of all his readers and of public opinion, prefers, rather than have himself adjudged fearful of the consequences of what he writes, to face all dangers.

But now, with our liberty of action completely restored and the attitude of our editor—which is naturally the attitude of “Cuba”—viewed with justice and noblemindedness, first by the House of Representatives and afterwards by the press and the public, “Cuba” takes pleasure in making the foregoing statement and in recognizing the honorable character of Mr. Beaupré and Mr. Gibson, Minister and Secretary of Legation, respectively, of the United States in our country.