On Feb. 12, 1902, the Lawrence Journal wrote, “The Journal announced immediately after the Maine was blown up that the incident would not be closed until Cuba was a part of the United States. It has never retracted that assertion, and has never wavered in its idea that annexation was the best thing for both countries, and the only logical end to the struggle for the absolute freedom of Cuba. Cuba will be free in name only until it is part of the United States.”