The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-10-29

Washington, Oct. 2S.-Although 1t Is
now within a few days of three months
since the protocol by which Spain
agreed to renounce all claim to all SOW
ereignty over and all her rights in the
island of cuba and Immediately evac-
uate cuba was signed almost 100000
Spanish troops are in the island.
The peace protocol was signed on
August - and the military commits
sion, of which General Wade is chair
man, has been i'm Havana since the
first week i'm September endeavorirg
ia arrange the details of the evacua-
tion.
The only Spanish soldiers who have
been sent back to Spain, according to
the promise of the government at Mad
did,arethose who were sick and to trans
port whom home Spain was only too
glad.
\ BIG ARMY.
1T was reported at the war depart
ment today that there were 11S,000
Spanish regulars and 1000 Spanish
volunteers on duty in Cuba, in addition
to $4,000 Spanish volunteers who are
under arms but are not in active SER
vice. General BlancC has al this min
19l, 900 Spanish soldiers, as thoroughly
equipped and as Immediately available
as it was while the war was on. His
force is as large today as it was at
the beginning of the war, save for the
10000 troops under General Toral, who
surrendered TO General Shafter at
Santiago and We're transported home
at our expense.
ho igh ,iy-i In
ana protest that they cannot arrange
for complete evacuation uf the island
for six months. The American COM
missioners believe that the spanish
troops can be denorted within forty
days if reasonable zeal is shown, and
they have become imuatient because
uf General BlancOs dilatOry tactics.
1t is fact that General Blanco has
not done anything toward the Telin-
GuiShmcnt of Spain's sovereignty in
Cuba. He has been even more skill
full in his dilatory tactics than have
the Spanish peace commissioners in
theirs at Paris. He has refraned
from doing anything toward removing
the mines from the herbor of Havana
and has refused to put the American
commissioners in possession of infor-
lIIdllOI DIS 10 Tue lOCdllOn Oh Inem o.
the control of them. That makes it
impossible for our navy to remove
them, except by tedious dragging and
an American ship entering the harbor
of Havana today is as much at the
mercy Of the Spanish authorities as
WAS the Inflated Maine
BLANCO SUPREME.
General PIanco remains i'm command
of the whole of the island of Cuba,
except a territory comprising about a
third OF the province of Santiago. He
collects duties at the Havana custom
house and pockets the money. lie
continues to sell worthless military
property and 10 keep intact and un-
der his own control all the modern fer
tificatons of tn" city. In short. he
is far from living up to the terms Of
tie protocol, and it appears to the
authorities in Washington as though
spain IS CndeaVorinE deliberately to
hold Havana as a pledge for cnHSid-
GRAFTON at the hands of the peace com.
mission.
Spain could undoubtedly have all
he" troops out of cuba before Dee I
Il she was sincere. As it is. in spite
of the pledges said to nave been made
by the commits sOners at Paris it is
not improbable that the United States
will have To assume q more deter
iGined attitude t. obtain possession
of the island