Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1898-08-11
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular Correspondents.
WASHINGTON, August 8, 1898

If the Spanish Ministry had any proper
idea of the public sentiment in this coun-.
try it would not have wasted ten days in
deciding whether to accept the terms Of
peace offered. If they knew good thing
when they saw 1t, they would have jumped
at those terms In the statement of the
terms of peace, last week, the administration
was given credit to which it was not
entitled. Instead of providing that claims
of Americans for property destroyed in
Cuba should be paid by Spain aud dis
claiming responsibility for Spanish bonds
issued as lien on the revenues of Cuba
and Porto Rico, it mentioned neither, leav-
ing those troublesome matters to be added
to the numerous other troublesome things
that will have to be tackled by the Com
mission that will negotiate the treaty OF
peace The only certain things in the
terms of peace are that Spain shall avacu-
ate Cuba and Porto Rico and that we shall
retain Manila and Manila Bay everything
else is to be settled by the commission.
Mr.. Mckinley apparently fully believes
that the Spanish Ministry is honest in
informally telling him that it intends TO
accept his terms of peace, although 0fici-
ally it still remains silent. His faith is so
strong that the orders for the reinforcs.
ment Of Gen. Miles have been held up,and
that nothing is being doEe TO send Gen.
Merritt the re-inforcements that he has
asked for. If Spain accepts the terms,
these hold-ups will do no harm, but should
Spain be foolish enough to reject the terms,
they may be fraught with serious conse-
quences. Gen. Miles is still having every
thing his own way in Porto Rico, and being
royalty welcomed by the Porto Ricans, but
If it becomes necessary for him to attack
the strong Notifications at San Juan, he
has not men enough to take that town,
without great sacrifice of life.
Notwithstanding the harsh criticism
which has come from all sections of the
country and from the holders of all shades
of political opinion of the partiality shown
by thu Navy Department, in favor OF
acting Admiral Sampson and against Com
modore Schley, that Partially still exists,
and, according to current gossip, is about
to be strikingly exhibited a shifting of
orders for the purpose of giving Sampson
an opportunity to splurge in European
waters. The orders for sending strong
fleet to the coast of Spain, issued some
weeks ago. for bluffing purposes, have
never been revoked, and the officials say
that the feet is to go for the purpose of
=" impressing Europe,n now that the pend.
ing cessation of hOstilities and the pros
pect of permanent peace have made
further fighting apparently unnecessary
There being no further opportunity for
Sampson to acquire either glory or prize
money in Cuban waters, he is to be given
command OF the European feet, and Com
modore Watson, who was first assigned to
that command, is to have command of all
the ships that remain in Cuban waters. As
Watson ranks (Schley) there will be no
important command left for the latter.
This Navy Department clique may sue
coed for time in depriylng Schley of
honor ne has won, but Congress can be
depended upon to see that justice is done
him.
Secretary Alger's mixing of politics with
military matters has added nothing to his
popularity nor to his reputation for poiti-
cal sagacity. In his eagerness to injure
Teddy" Roosevelt's political fortunes,
Secretary Alger went to the extent OF
publishing private letter from Roosevelt
to himself. in which slurs were thrown at
the fighting qualities OF the volunteer
soldiers, in order that he might accompany
it with an official reprimand from himself
to Roosevelt. Alger was so much afraid
that the round robin" signed by the
Generals under Shafter, headed by Roose-
yelt, who is acting Commander of a Bri-
gade, would be credited with the .acceler-
ated movements of the War Department
in getting our soldiers away from Santiago,
that he had an official statement made to
the press, saying that the soldiers were
being moved in accordance with plans
made before the publication of the round
robin" which, by the way, Roosevelt is
accused of having furnished to the Asso-
ciated Press. This need not fool any body,
as it says that the Secretary of War had
sometime ago notified Gen. Shafter that his
men would be brought back to the United
States, as soon as the fever subsidized"
The fever has not subsidized, but the men
are being brought back as fast as they are
able to get aboard transports. There
isn't the slightest doubt that the round
robin" however much it may have been
tinged with insubordination from strictly
military point of view, caused the men to
be moved sooner than they would other
wise have been moved, and that thereby
many valuable lives we're saved. Insubor-
dination that breaks red tape that is kill
ing our soldiers is not likely to receive
popular condemnation; nor does it de-
serve it.