The record-union., 1898-08-11
A Protocol Agreed Upon by Secre-
tary Day and N. Cambon.
It's Terms Said 10 Be In All Practical Points
Those Set Out In the Presidents Con-
ditions, Including Evacuation Of
Cuba and Porto Rico.

w NASE1NGlON, Aug. Iu~IHc plC
liminary negotiations looking toward
the confirmation of peace advanced a
long step to-day, when the Secretary
OF State and the French ambassador
agreed upon terms upon which future
negotiations for a treaty are to be con-
Quoted and reduced these to the form
of a protocol. This protocol, it is true,
is yet to be signed, and is to be sub
mitted to the Spanish Government be-
fore the formal signatures are affixed,
but the Administration views as the
progress made to-day was set out in
Secretary Days sentence: 1T is ex-
pected that this protocol will be eX-
ecuted'
There is always the possibility in
dealing with the Spanish Government
that 1t may recede at the last moment
from an implied agreement, but it is
scarcely probable that it would be will
ing TO involve the French ambassador
in the difficulties that would follow
what to the world seems to be a
Reputation of his benevolent efforts in
behalf OF Spain.
There must be a delay, possibly from
twenty -four to forty-eight hours, before
the next step can be taken, and the
protocol made binding upon both the
United States and Spain by the attach
ment of the signatures of the plenipo-
tentiaries, Secretary Day for the United
States, and NJ. Cambon for Spain. The
delay will be largely attributable to
physical causes. The protocol is long.
1t must be translated and turned back
and forth into code and simple lam
guage no less than five times before it
reaches Madrid through the French
Foreign Office. This work was not he
had consumed the best energies of AS
sistant Secretary Adee of the State De-
partment, and NJ. Thiebaut, Secretary
of the French Embassy, in the prepara-
ton in formal shape of two copies of
the protocol, one in English and one in
French. These We're prepared very
carefully. The length of the protocol
imposed a great amount of labor upon
the cipher clerks, or whoever is charged
with the work of rendering the original
into cipher. so that altogether it is ap-
parent that the consumption of time in
volved in purely mechanical functions
will be SO considerable as TO make The
rendition of a very early answer i'm
probable.
AS to the character of the protocol,
It can be stated on authority that the
terms are in all practical points those
set out in the abstract OF the Presi-
dents conditions, published from :he
White House week ago. From this
fact it is deducted that the extra con-
ditions and qualifications sought to be
imposed by the Spanish Government
were abandoned, at least in large part,
by the French Embassador. This de-
duetion is supported by the circum-
stance that in the early morning, and
before the conference between Secre-
tary Day and NJ. Cambon. which re-
suited inthe agreement, there was
prevalent impression, based upon the
utterances of public men who had
talked with the President, that the
Spanish answer was unsatisfactory,
and that the negotiations looked as if
they might terminate suddenly AS
this situation changed so suddenly
after the conference. ii may be fairly
assumed that the ambassador aban-
doned the conditions which the Presi-
dent was reputed to have regarded as
unsatisfactory.
It is believed that the protocol car
ries within itself provisions for the ces-
sation of hostilities. On this point the
naval contingent is urgent that our
Government adopt the Napoleonic
policy of refusing to enter into an armi-
stice without acquiring some substan-
tial pledge to secure the consumma-
tion of peace. What they particularly
desire Is that our Government shall de-
mand as a condition of the cessation
OF hostilities, the surrender to the Uni
ted states military forces of MORO
Castle at the entrance of Havana har-
Dor, and some such points of vantage
at the other important ports in the. ter
ritory soon to fall under our control.
The peace negotiations are now be-
lieved TO be advanced to point where
the President has felt warranted in
turning his attention tothe selection OF
the Commissioners to be charged by /
the United States with the drafting of
. treaty Of peace. So far as can be |