The record-union., 1898-10-20

WASHINGTON. Oct. 10. General
| Wade. President of the American
| Evacuation Commission in Cuba, tele-
graphed the War Department last night
that 5000 Spanish soldiers had been
embarked already for Spain and that
arrangements had been completed, of
which the Commissioners had been duly
notified by the Spanish Commissioners,
| for the embarkation of 10000 more
| troops in the near future
On the whole this rate of progress
in view of the limited resources of
Spain, is believed to be reasonable. 1t
is realized that the Spanish Govern
| ment is not able to command unlim-
| lted transport service, If for no other
reason than for lack of cash, obliging
1t to rely entirely upon the Govern
ment-aided by the Compagnie Trans
Atlant1que, whose stock of vessels has
! already been heavily drawn upon un-
| der the exigencies of the war. So long
| as this disposition is exhibited to carry
out in good faith the evacuation of the
| island, our Government is not likely to-
! make complaint, and the statement
! that the American Commissioners at
Havana did yesterday deliver them
selves of a conclusion, however. does
not apply to the transfer of sovereignty,
and While permitting the presence of
| Spanish troops in Cuba on and after
December lst, it is the present purpose
| of the War Department to take COM
| plete possession of the entire civil es-
| tablishment of the island on the date
| mentioned just as General Wood did
! in Santiago Province.
| This may happen even while the
| Spanish Commissioners at Paris are
still desperately striving to secure con-
sideration by the joint commission of
questions affecting the Cuban debt
| Now that the Spanish Peace Commits
sioners have been repulsed in their eff
| forts to have the United States assume
sovereignty over Cuba as the means
of thus transferring to our shoulders
| the Cuban debt, the next movement
| looked for on their part is one in the
direction of imposing this indebtedness
upon the Cubans themselves, when they
shall have erected some form of gov
ernment on the ruins of Spanish SOW
ereignty. This would be something in
the nature of a last resort on the part
of the bondholders.
But 1t is scarcely probable that any
such proposition would be favorably
received by the Peace Commissioners
acting Jointly, for aside from the
question as to the justice of imposing
upon a new and struggling government
mass of debt quite sufficient to para
lyze 1t for years to come, there is much
to be said in favor of the entire re-
pudiation of this debt by the Cubans
on the score that it was not really in
CURED on account of the island, but
actually to benefit Spain. Also it may
be said that even should the Commits
sfoners consent to consider such a prop
osition. they would do so only on the
distinct understanding that the various
so-called Cuban debts should be differ
entiated, and only part of them regard
ed as proper liens against the Cuban
people
Touching the municipal debts. as al
ready stated, our Commissioners have
never contended that they should be
outlawed, but they will remain as a
just charge against the respective COM
munities which fioated them and for
whose benefit their proceeds were ap-
Piled
Touching the bitter complaints that
are made in the French papers against
what they denominate the uncompro-
missing and unyielding attitude of the
American Commissioners and their re-
fusal to consider propositions to arbi-
trate radical differences between the
two bodies it is said here that presum-
ably the Spanish Commissioners went
to Paris under instructions quite as
comprehensive as those supplied to the
American Commissioners. Any sug-
gestion of arbitration would be out of
place in connection with the Peace
Commission, and should it come to an
irreconcilable difference between the
two commissions, there can be but one
arbitrament-that of the sword-for
which our Government is fully prepar-
ed, but which it does not expect to be
obliged to enter upon.