To venture outside the lines in search of food is a crime for which many Cubans have forfeited their lives.
The President is not unaware of these horrors, but he is determined to be sure that he knows the truth of the matter before he takes any decisive action.
He has sent Mr. Calhoun to Cuba to investigate the cause of the death of Dr. Ricardo Ruiz, who died or was killed in the prison of Guanabacoa, as we told you in The Great Round World, No. 19.
While he is in the island on this business, Mr. Calhoun is also to make notes of the general condition of things, and the President will be guided in his future Cuban policy by the report Mr. Calhoun makes.
There is a very grave reason why it is necessary for the President to take some action on Cuba at this moment. Diseases of the most serious kind have broken out in Cuba, and it is feared that they may be carried into our own country, unless some steps are taken to prevent them.
As we have said, no attempt has been made to protect, feed, or house the people who have been brought into the towns; and the overcrowding and hunger and misery have produced every form of fever and sickness, from which these poor unfortunates are dying in great numbers.
The best way to prevent the spreading of these diseases is to stop the causes that give rise to them. It may therefore be necessary, for the protection of this country, that the President take some steps to put an end to the struggle in Cuba.
There is as yet no settlement of the trouble between Greece and Turkey.
When the Greeks decided to put their affairs in the hands of Europe, the Powers sent to Turkey, asking her on what terms she would make peace, and if she would grant an armistice while the matter was being discussed.