The herald., 1898-10-06
Associated Press Special Wire.


WASHINGTON. Oct. SIT can be stated
on authority that the various stories pub
l.shed relating to the work of the peace
commission now in Paris, wherever they
assume to Indicate failure of negotiations,
renewal Of hoschtes and the dispatch of a
naval force to the Spanish coast, are purely
speculative. AS q ma liter of fact, the COM
mission has not progressed so far with Its
work to warrant the attempt to draw
conclusion as to the outcome. 1t is not
even possible to predict the length Of the
session with any accuracy.
The proceedings may last one month or
three. That will depend entirely upon the
view taken by the American commissioners
Of the situation IN Paris. If they are con-
vinced that the negotiations are being con-
Quoted with sincerity on the part of the
Spanish commission there Will be no ef-
fort made to force them beyond reason.
But If it should appear that the Spanish
position Is not subject to change; that 1t is
rreconcilable with the American demands
and that the Spanish, knowing this, are
simply prolonging the proceedings, our
commissioners are likely to be promptly re-
called. The Spanish government is now
fully Informed through It's commissioners
Of the exact extent of Americas demands.
Whether these are absolute and not SUBJ
ject to abatement cannot be ascertained
mere, for the responsible officials declare
that 1t would be extremely bad policy to
make any admission on this point
Terms Not Fixed
But the impression in official circles IS
that, while the conditions are absolute IN
general scope, yet there may be opportunity
for amendment in slight details. AS to
| these details, Admiral Dewey is one of the
| most trusted counselors of the America n
commissioners. Such information as he
has been able to collect has already been
| mailed to the commissioners, and in ad-
ditlon the authorities have cabled certain
| extracts from the admirals observations
| which are believed to be Of special i'm
portance just now. 1t Is believed that with
his usual modesty, the officer has refrained
from expressing any opinion upon the very
| essential point as to the extent Of the
American demands In the matter of terri
tory in the Philippines. He has not di-
| rectly suggested that the whole group be
| taken nor that our claim be limited to
Manila bay and the contiguous territory
| but he has called attention to the one very
| important consideration which has seemed
1
to escape general observation up to this
time and which has been laid before the
| American comm:ssioners-that with an
the advantages in a commercial way pos
sessed by Manila, the place Is indefensible
unless Subig bay be also held by the
United States
Better Than Manila
This particular bay is on the whole re-
marked as being superior from strateg.c
point of view to Manila bay, and the Span
sh government has evidently been of the
same mind, for before the outbreak Of hos
| tilities it was able to embark upon an ex-
tensive scheme of defensive work in Subig
bay.
Merritt's Advice
| PARIS, Oct. 5.-The United States Peace
Commission had it's usual session today
from 10 am. to pm. The commissioners
confined the conference with Major-Gen-
eral Merritt and practically concluded an