The Opelousas courier., 1898-11-12
Washington, ID. e., Ney $.
From our Regular Correspondence.

4 /,
Although : HAAae HAAae-4t5akep 45ak the Peace
Commissioner, at f"1ls, more than
a month to get down to the single
question it was formed to settle,
the disposition of the Philippines
1t would be a safe wager that it
will not take three weeks more to
finish the business. This may seem
rash statement, in view of the ap-
parent deadlock of the Commission,
caused by the refusal of the Span
ish commissioners to agree to sur
render the Philippines upon the
terms offered by our Commissioners.
If that ead-lock were real, it
wOnld be rash statement, but it
is not. There are the best of rea-
sons for the belief that this appar-
ent deadlock is dummy, trotted
out for effect, and that the Congress
sional campaign being over, and
the administration no longer having
reason for delaying the negotia-
tion of the treaty, the Commission
ers will very speadily agree upon
the amount of money that we are
to pay Spain, and finish up the
treaty: Although the treaty will
say that we pay this money to Spain
for the Philippines, others will re-
gard it as paid for other purposes,
inasmuch as the Philippines are
ours by right of capture. This idea
of the victorious notion paying in
demnity to the conquered nation,
has only one thing to commend it
it is original-but that isn't likely
to make it popular. There will he
some sharp talk on this subject in
Congress, this winter, and it will
not all come from democrats,
either.
If Lieut.. Hobson, who is still in
Washington, has any Of the super
stition which most persons raised
in the South have, lie probably re-
CARDS himself as having been hoo
dooed. He had hardly recovered
from the knockdoWn given him by
the Navy Department when it re.
fused to allow him to continue his
efforts to save the Spanish war
ships, sunk Oft Santiago, when the
news reached Washington that the
Maria Teresa, the Spanish cruiser
raised under his direction, had
foundered in storm, while Oh it's
way to New York. There is much
real regret over the loss of this fa,e
ship, estimated to be worth $2,OGD,-
900, but there are Naval Officials
high ones-who regard the loss
with complacency, because the YES
sci would have been constant re.
minder of Lieut.. Hobson, who has
they think, already received EN-
tirely too much glory for his work.
Hobson can't talk about the way he
has been treated, but some of his
friends can and do most emphati-
cally.
Belva Lockwood, once a Presi-
Dental Candidate, and for years a
sort of a lawyer and claim agent,
has been telling some other women
exactly what brought Oh the war.
She said it was all the wicked news
papers, and attempted to prove the
assertion. The following extract is
a fair sample of her speech: "There
was no need of the late war, and
but for the press, it would never
have blackened the pages OF our
history. There was nothing but
what could have been settled by
peaceful measures, by the Presi-
dent and his Cabinet. Yet there
were legislators who burned for
glory and longed for fight, and
these, egged on by the press, which
printed all their wild utterances,
brought about declaration of war.
Then we forgot our civilization, and
from reading the papers, we thought
it would be glorions to butcher our
fellowmen and great to whip Spain.
The papers continually piled the
terrible fuel on the flame, until five
year old children were impregnated
with desire to kill, and ran about
the streets stoning everything
which bore any relation to SPAIN"
There was more of the same sort,
but this was enough to show how
fortunate this country is in not hav-
ing a Belva Lockwood for Presi-
dent.
Of course the Army officers know
better than to talk for publication
about such things, bit among them
selves some do not hesitate to say
that Gen. Lawton's testimony be-
fore member of Mr.. McKinley's
alleged investigating Commission,
which was extremely Mandatory of
the War Departments management
of the Santiago Campaign, might
have been very different had Gen
eral Lawton not expected to be
named to supercede Gen. Graham,
who was without warning deprived
of his command as Commander of
the End Corps, stationed at Camp
Meade, Pa.
Populism has all gone to pieces
in Georgia, and their leading pa
per of that State is now in the
hands of the sheriff, who is doubt
less Democrat, and is trying to