The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-10-18
Upon the United States Prompt
ly Repudiated.
A CRISIS is REACHED.
Judge Day Indulges in Some
Plain Talk.
Notifies Spain That All the
Philippines May Be Demanded.

LOnQO0,
spondent of the Times says:
AT the sitting of the peace commits
sion Monday afternoon the American
commissioners officially-and 1t would
seem definiteIy-rejected the idea of ac-
cepting sovereignty over Cuba for the
United States. The Spanish commits
sioners thereupon remarked that Spain,
having abandoned such sovereignty un-
der pressure from the United States and
the United States having denied that
sovereignty henceforth belongs to them,
Cuba is defacto in a state of anarchy
as an internission of sovereignty can
not be viewed in any other light
THE American commissioners re-
Joined that without accepting SOW
ereignty the United States considered
themselves deputed and bound to main
tain security for all the inhabitants,
that they would not fail to introduce
and uphold order and in short, they
would do all that was necessary to put
the island in a state of normal organiz-
alton to be transformed at the earliest
moment into a legal regularity, salts
factory for the security of all.
Upon this the Spanish commission
ers, with what seems striking logic,
promptly replied that by the fact of the
declaration just made them and OF the
United States undertaking to restore
- y
States were invested with verita bic
sovereignty and consequently could not
refuse to accept the consequences OF
such sovereignty, seeing that they ad-
mittedly could not tolerate the relapse
into anarchy of an island placed under
their supervision and direction.
notwithstanding these striking OBJ
jectiOnS, the American commissioners
persisted in their refusal and officially
declared that the United States can not
be considered invested with sovereignty
and that they, the commissioners, could
not deViate from this definite declara-
ton. According to impressions I have
been able to collect in various circles,
unconnected with either side, but en-
titled to weight, the refusal of the
United States is not of so positive a
character as would at first sight seem
TO result in the formal declarations
mentioned.
The reasoning given me is thus:
1.-The United States have declared that
they made a war not of conquest but of
liberation and order, because they could
not allow the prOlOngatiOn at their very
doors of a state of things which was,
in their eyes, a blow to the cause or
humanity and civilization. They there
fore made a public declaration that the
war was not one of conquest and they
now consider that by agreeing TO pe IN
vested with the sovereignty OF CUBA
they would give themselves the appear
ance of having conquered the island
for territorial ggrandizement. They re-
of a cOnquering nation. Hence they
positively refuse to accept that capacity
of sovereignty which would be lncon-
sistent with the character of human
tartan disinterestedness essential to the
honor of America The United States
quite comprehend that their firm re-
fusal to accept sovereignty does not
include obligation, on the footing OF JUS
tice and equity, to make Spain real con-
cessions as to financial burdens which
would be crushing if she were saddIed
with the whole Cuban debt. We may
be certain that on this point the Amer
leans will be less infleXible than on the
principle of sovereignty. The proof, L
am told, that the United States are dis
posed to meet Spain in an equitable
fashion is that the Spanish commits
sioners, who would not at first accept
an invitation to dine with General
Horace Porter until the end of the con-
ference. have now accepted
Friends of the United States here
think it might have been better if they
had proceeded more openly and If, IN
stead of conQuering the island indirect
ly, the Washington government had
frankly accepted sovereignty in Cuba
with all the rights and objections in
The Paris correspondent of the Daily
7 hear that the peace problem will
soon be settled, America assuming the
Cuban per cent loan of 1885 which was
hoated entirely for Cuban purposes, and
A dispatch to the London News Agen-
CIV from Paris says:
Monday, the conference reached a
crisis for the first time. Judge Day pre-
sented the demands of the American
commission in threatening words He
said that delay was the only possible
object obtainable by the persistent eff
forts of the Spanish commissioners to
saddle the United States with the Gu
ban debt and would be tolerated no
longer as the United States would
neither assume or guarantee any part
of the debt.
'aThe Spaniards replied that this
Rlaced Spain in position of repudiat-
Sng or of reducing the face value of the
Cuban bonds from so to so per cent,
paying only half the stipulated interest
on the reduced value. Before they would
adopt either alternative. they would
surrender to the United States the en-
tire Philippines.
Judge Day responded that the sur
render of the Philippines would proba-
bly, be demanded irrespective of the Gu
ban or any other debt.
This, to the Spaniards, the first in
timation of the Intentions of the United
States as to the Philippines resulted in
a whispered conference, followed by a
request for an adjournment in order to
communicate with Madrid. Judge Day
said that Preside ent Mckinley had in
structed him to demand the entire sur
render of Porto Rico Tuesday and the
delivery of every town to the United
States officers before midnight, tOgeth-
er with the evacuation of Havana on
or before December l, when the United
States would be at the gates of the
city ready to take possession.
There was no alternate offered in
the case Of either of these demands and
the Spanish reply consequently was
very brief. The American comm. sssion-
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