The hasty, though perhaps natural, conclusion to which American
public sentiment at once leaped, however, was that the disaster
was the work of Spain, without making any discrimination between
the Government itself and the disaffected factions. A general
sorrow and anger throughout the United States reinforced the
popular anxiety for national interests and the humane regard for
the Cubans. Press and public oratory demanded official action.
"Remember the Maine!" was an admonition which everywhere met the
eye and ear. The venerable and trusted Senator Proctor, who
visited Cuba, came back with the report that conditions on the
island were intolerable. On the 9th of March, "Uncle Joe" Cannon,
the watchdog of the Treasury, introduced a bill appropriating
fifty million dollars to be used for national defense at the
discretion of the President. No doubt remained in the public mind
that war would result unless the withdrawal of Spanish authority
from Cuba could be arranged peaceably and immediately.

Even in this final stage of the negotiations it is sufficiently
obvious that the United States Government was particularly
desirous of preserving peace. There is also little doubt that the
Spanish Government in good faith had the same desire. The
intelligent classes in Spain realized that the days of Spanish
rule in Cuba were practically over. The Liberals believed that,
under the circumstances, war with the United States would be a
misfortune. Many of the Conservatives, however, believed that a
war, even if unsuccessful, was the only way of saving the
dynasty, and that the dynasty was worth saving. Public opinion in
Spain was therefore no less inflamed than in America, but it was
less well-informed. Cartoons represented the American hog, which
would readily fall before the Spanish rapier accustomed to its