Evening star., 1898-08-25
THE PEACE COMMISSION
The Aim of the President in Making His
Selection.
Naval Force to De Kept Intact-Plan
for Mastering Out Volun-
teers.
E COMMISSION

BY the selection of Senators Davis and
Frye as peace commissioners the President
has indicated very strongly, 1t is thought,
that he has no disposition to pack the
commission in opposition to the policy of
expansion. The best information is that
the President wants to get for the COM
mission men who are broad enough not to
be Influenced in their action by prejudices
formed without study of the question,
but who will apply good judgment to the
conditions as they are found after a care
fu' study of all the facts having any bear
ing on the question of what disposition we
Will make of the territory now practically
at our command. The President is him
self not an expansionist, but of the men
thus far known to have been selected one
Mr.. Day, is very conservative and not in
clned to favor the acquisition of remote
territory, and the other two-Davis and
F'rye-are understood to be more or less
inclined toward expansion.
Duties of the Naval Board.
The statement that the purpose Of the
appointment of the naval board to consider
the disposition of the various vessels which
were drawn into the naval service by the
exigencIes of the war is to retire these
vessels at once from the government serv
that it is not the intention of the depart
ment to in any way weaken the naval
fcrces until after the treaty of peace has
actually been concluded. The statement
that the various auxiliary vessels were to
be got rid Of as speedily as possible at
tracted the attention of some public men,
and led to the suggestion being made to
the President that too hasty action in the
direction of reducing the naval force would
likely have the effect of encouraging the
Spanish TO keep up protracted Maggie
over the terms of peace, feeling that we
would under no possible circumstances be
led TO risk the possibility of a renewal of
hCstilities. The same reasoning does not
apply to the army. since If there We're
renewal of hostilities as the situation now
is no very large army would be needed,
the work to be done devolVing principally
upon the navy.
In response to the suggestion, it Is ex-
planned that the purpose of the appoint
ment of the naval board is to avail of this
period of inactivity to have survey made
Of the various auxiliary vessels and to
have them classified and distributed so 2s
to bring out their greatest efficiency. This
is the main proposition to be considered,
acting upon the assumption for the pres
ent that the naval establishment is to be
maintained at its present strength, but at
the same time the board will, so as to en-
able the department to act promptly when
position to be made of the several vessels
after the treaty of peace is concluded This
is not to be acted on, however IT is stated,
until after peace is finally concluded, and
suggestions to the contrary said to be
misleading and calculated to give a false
impression in Spain, and possibly do some
hahn.
MASTERING Ont Plan.
In connection with the mastering out of
troops, Senator Sewell and Representative
Gardner of New Jersey have urged upon
the President and the War Department a
plan, which it is expected will be adopted,
by which a more general option may be
giI en- to the individual soldiers as to their
remaining or being discharged from the
service The proposition is that after the
regiments to be mustered out have been
selected and given their orders to that
effect, men in the regiments mustered out
who desire to remain in the service may be
permitted 10 exchange with men in the
regiments retained, who, for cne reason or
another. find it desirable to return at once
to private life. 1t is assumed that there
viii he great many individuals in the
retained regiments whose business or
family responsibilities demand their return
nome, while, on the other hand, many of
those discharged would prefer to remain
and an exchange of this sort would be
gratifying en- both sides, and really add
to the contentment and efficiency of the
volunteer army retained yet for awhile in
the service.