The times., 1897-07-08
President Mckinley Requested
to Enforce an Indemnity.
HE MAY USE ANY MEANS
A Significant Resolution Introduced
in the senate-Twenty Thousand
Dollars Demanded for Outrages
on Aniericans-Senato Morgan
Thinks Spain VIII Back Down.

| specified IN the resolution this Govern
ment would collect S20,0 600 Indemnity
| for outrages on American citizens, If net es-
| navy The cases referred to- are those of
| two naturalize1 American citizens whose
| history viii be found below
| President Mckinley sent the papers in
| this case to the Committee on Foreign
| Relations in April last 1t has taken
some time, they say, TO prepare the matter
| for presentations to the Senate and, now
| that 1t is there, it has produced sensa-
| ton. There appears to be Only two sides
| to the question, one whether Spain viii
| Tccede from her position OF refusing the
| in Indemnity, and the other is Ii she does not
Iecede, will this Government collect the
| indemnity at d Cuban or any other Spanish
| port.
| The issnlution speaks for irseif, aud Is
| as follows
Resolved, That the President of the
United STAGES be, and he is hereby EN-
powered To take such measures as III his
| Judgment VIII be necessary TO obtain the
Indemnity from the Spanish government
Tor the wrongs and inJuIies suffered by
August Boiten and Gus0aye Richeiieu, by
rcascn OF their wrongful arrest and ini-
prlsuDnicnt by the authorities at Santiago
de Cuba In the year 1885, anu to secure
tDls end he IS authorized and requested
bu employ such means as ARE necessary
ana such power as may be necessary.
The President, it viii he observed, has a
suggestion of duty In the word re
questet:'' which goes further than the
mere usual authorization w hicii leaves the
| rest To the Conscience Of the Executive.
A rather interesting incident about the
reporting of tn S resolution is that before
il was read II eontainedthe word ''pronpt-
| lyH as Qualifying the action of the Presi
aent. This was stricken out, and tells
very plainly OF fight in the committee
which ended by the rad Gals being de
feated, o., perhaps, it was deemed best
| by all 10 bavc the resolution passed III its
| present form. 1t can be amended But
| the fact that the word was there indicates
| that at 3he time the committee had got
| ten very tired OF tie Spanish side of the
| case and stood ready to urge the Presi
| dent and Congress to send down the sidls
| To collect tie money.
| Mr.. Lodge said yesterday to The Times
| that he rega rded the matter us one OF
| special interest Just now, and lie VIII
| probably pusi, it at the first opportunity
| Ar. Lodge said that the Duke OF Tetuan
| had conducted the negotiations in such
an unsatisfactory manner that there WAS
! nothing left fer the Committee TO do but
! to report the resolution as above.
| Mr.. Morgan, OF the Committee, has prob
! ably furnished the reason why the word
| promptly was not permitted to remain
| in the resolution. He does not believe
| that there win be any war with SPAN,
/
| which means that she VIII be forced to
reconsider by the passage or this resoIu-
! ton by the Senate and House.
| Mfr Morgan, when asked what would
be the result of the resolution, said:
s.-THe effect, Will be that IL will bring
! the money. 1t VIII go through the Senate,
| but no one can make a guess as To what the
/ House will 90. Ii went through the com
| nittee without any dissent. althoughit was
| before the committee two or three months :
| 'If the resolution passes the Senate aud
| House aud is signrd by the President VIII
1t create trouble with spain?''
81 see no reason for any difficulty with
Spain Go not tn gk Spain is foolish
enough to permit trouble
| Col. a. A AguirTe, the well-known
| Cuban. said 10 Times reporter last
| night: 81 am glad the resolution has
| been passed by the Committee on For
] eign Affairs, as il will show Spain In
| her true coiors, and will make the bot
| tom Of this war scare relative to Spain
| fall cut | hope that both houses of Con
giess win take favorable action on the
| resolution Il would be equivalent, as
suggested by Senator Morgan, to this
governments laying down the sword on
| the table and inviting Spain to take it
| up. She would not accept, heeaus she
| Knows that war waged by her with this
| country would mean only a matter of
| sixty days, with herself on The losing side.
| War with Spain would be picnic to this
| country. If this country ould send
! 100000 men to Cuba they would kick
| The SpanidIds into the sea, and that would
be the end of all this Spanish bragga-
| docio about her declaring war with this
country.
II hope this matter will give President
| Mckinley an opportunity to recognize
! the belligerent rights of the CYbans. If
We had been recognized year and half
ago. when Congress passed its first reso-
| lutions relative to the struggling Cubans,
We would have been freed long ago, and
\
| scenes of bloodshed that have prevailed
On the island. If this cotiatry wsuId
recognize the belIigerent rights ef the
| rrbans Spain would withdraw Ter troops
| from Cuba within a few weeks President
| Mckinley ought to recognize Us as we
| have made up our minds to conquer or
| die, and to withhold recognition would
mean to prolong the contest indefinitely,
| and to continue the sacrifice Of lives and
property
/ tits little curious that sue han important
| resolution as this s houId have been reported
| at the end Of an extra session. although it
| has been before the committee FOR three
months. The Republican majority of the
| Foreign Relations COMMITTEES of course
| directs its action TO a great extent, and IL
| would appear tiatifftw as sreaIIyintendeeIt to
| have President cKinleyshow aniailedh and
In this matter, the resolution would hare
neen reported long ago. so that it might
| have gone to the House, and thence to the
/ President
There is no doubt, nevertheless, that
the resolution is 8 powder magazine w hich
only requires a match to explode 1t into the
| first alarm OF war
The committee has filed With the resc-
luton statement OF the case which il
Interesting Eistoricaliy, SO far as the sail
ors are concerned, and for it's vigorous
language. The word promptly" by the
way, is not emitted from the statements.
According to this statement the committee
was In such a position thatit could do noth-
Ing else except urge the government &c
fight for this indemnity, Spain having