Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1898-08-10

Washington, ID. c., Aug. S.-Spain' S
answer to the demands of the United
States is now on the way to Washington,
but it is coming with a slowness almost
painful in view of the earnest desire to
know whether the acceptance is complete
OF qualified.
The reply had not reached here during
the early hours of the day. The French
ambassador and staff awaited it until Il
late hour last night and then concluded
that it would be here today. There are
no less than five translations, four of
them cipher, III the transmission between
Madrid and Washington.
After the Spanish cabinet meeting last
night, the response was reduced to the
Spanish cipher and then sent to the
Spanish ambassador at Paris, Senior Leon
Y Castillo, by whom it was deciphered
and translated into French, after which
Senior Castillo would deliver it to the
French foreign office, to be reduced to
the French cipher for transmission to the
French embassy here. These moves, in
Guiding WOIk on the cipher code. calls by
Castillo on the foreign office and time re-
quired in cabling, will take, it is calcu-
lated, some eight or ten hours. Under
the circumstances the impression pre-
vailed in all official quarters up to mid
day, that the response would not be placed
in the hands Of the President until quite
late today at best, and more likely not
before tomorrow.
The impression Is growing in official
quarters that the Spanish answer, while
in the nature Of a concession of the Amer
lean demand, is not brief and simple
acceptance without reservation or condl-
ton. There is no direct official advice on
this point, but all the press advices from
Madrid indicate that the response is a
document of considerable length, prepared
with labOrlOuS care, and that 1t has sew
eral features which may not appear in the
conditions presented by the United
States.
Whether an acceptance of this charac-
ter will be regarded by the authorities
here as sufficiently responsive to the
American demands is a matter exciting
much conjecture today. In some quar-
tiers it is being urged that so long as
Spain accepts the essential principle re-
Quired by the United States the DISPOSE
ton here will be to deal with the defeated
enemy in a generous spirit on minor de-
tails.
1t IL probable that this will be the view
presented by the French ambassador in
case the Spanish reply is not a simple,
categorical acceptance of the American
terms On the other hand it is believed
that a response which opens up diplo-
matte controversy and gives the cOnd-
tiOns a much broader scope than was
originally framed at Washington, may
not meet with approval here. For in
stance, the Madrid advices seem to imply
that the answer is based on an Immediate
cessation of hostilities, but the view
among officials here is that hostilities will
not cease on the submission of a condi-
tional response, but that they will pro-
gress steadily until the American condi-
tons progress entirely beyond the stage
of possible diplomatic complication over
details
There is a strong disposition in some
influential quarters to have hostilities
continue until the actual evacuation of
Havana and Porto Rico begins by the en-
barkation Of Spanish troops. 1t is prob
able that the Spanish reply will be in
the hands of the government in time for
consideration at the regular cabinet
meeting tomorrow when the sutficiency or
insutficiency Of the response can be deter
mined.