The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-10-21
Spain'S Peace Commissioners In q
Quandary.
DIPLOMACY UNAVAILABLE
AMERICANS REFUSE TO GIVE UP
THEIR ADVANTAGE.
Absolutely Decline to Assume the
Debt or Accept Sovereignty
Spain's Efforts to Secure Sym
pathy From European Nations Are
Fruitless-AmeTica Criticised.

London, Oct. 20.-The Paris cores
/ pendent of the Times says: L had 9
visit today Thursday from a great
Spanish parsonage who seems to have
been commanded to ascertain the trend
of public opinion on the negotiations
here. he appeared much depressed. He
/ has found great and genuine sympathy
with Spain, but has been unable to dis
cover any possibility of obtaining NOR
/ al support against the American dele
/ gates. who are infiexible in their de-
form, have hitherto categorically re-
/ fused to make the slightest conceS-
| sions on any of the instructions receiy-
| ed by them, never having asked their
! government for the slightest modifica-
/ tions.
! Il have already explained the mode
| of negotiations. Memoirs are handed in,
which are translated and replied TO in
the same fashion. The Spaniards from
time TO time endeavor to enter in con-
verSation and turn the discussion into
verbal explanation of the views, in
order to obtain some deviation from the
inhexible line marked out by the
American government for its represent
IatiVeS.
Senior Abarzuza, who is a master of
the English language is the Spanish
commissioner who makes the efforts to
| lead TO a conversation, and he Is de-
scribed as very prepossessing and elo-
quent and he always makes a profound
impression The Americans, however,
listen attentively, but rigidly maintain
the procedure of written replies.
The intended sitting yesterday could
not be held because the Spaniards, in
view of the written replies made to
them, renounced their attempts at con-
versation, and asked As hours grace to
consult their government and prepare
a written rejoinder. The friend who
called told me he had found his coun-
trymen much discouraged, being con-
WINGED that the United States are bent
on rigorous exercise of the rights of
the victor. I have heard you say he
remarked, that Prince Bismarck once
said to YOU: when you have your
knee on the throat of a vanquished ma
ton, you can take from it all you like,
but you must always beware OF abuS-
ing your victory and exaggerating your
cOnquests; otherwise you load yourself
for many generations with crushing
burden, which ends by having the most
mischievous results for the victor-al-
most more than for the vanquished.'
My caller remarked: The Amer
leans are not adopting this wise and
humane view They seem bent on
pushing the results of the war to their
extreme consequences. They refuse to
entertain any concession on the finan-
cial question, and while declining TO
undertake sovereignty in Cuba, they
maintain that the Cuban debt is a
Spanish debt and that Spain abused
her sovereignty by saddling the island
with the interest of a debt by which
she alone profited.
q 'Vainly have we urged that they
themselves accepted financial obliga-
tions toward England after the war of
independence, that they accepted the
burdens of Texas after the conquest,
that there is no more general law than
the law of the obligations of a country
changing with its rulers. and that it
would be an arbitrary course and a
VeXatious precedent to throw the
Cuban debt upon US. 1t is useless; and
they stand peremptorily on their de-
mands.
What our delegates should say to
them if they persist, as it is to be
feared they will, is this: We are in
your hands. You are the victors. We
for once committed the folly of going
to war with you because you left us
no time to avoid it; because you treat
ed us in such a way that even at the
risk of suicide we We're bound to
plunge into war. although the result
Of it was evident to US. But we will
not commit the fresh folly of recon-
war in any form. We are,
therefore, at your mercy. We shall
submit to your dictates and shall leave +
the world to judge of those dictates;
but no human force will compel us to
subscribe TO them and we shall not /
subscribe.
This is what our delegates ought /
TO say on this Cuban question. AS for (
he other points, they will wait to hear /
what they are (