The evening times., 1898-08-25
THURSDAY, AUGUST Is, 1895.
The Muster Out.

The decision announced this morn
ing is that the entire quota of one
hundred thousand volunteers shall be
mustered out of service as rapidly as
possible. Within a fortnight that num-
Der of men now in the various camps
will have shed the un forms they wear,
deposited their arms with the Govern
ment, received their pay and returned
to their homes and the occupations of
private life.
This means that Sagasta, If he is
merely playing a game. has not i'm
posed on the President. The late
obviously believes the war is really
over and the signing of a treaty of
peace a matter of course, without the
possibility of a failure. The Spanish
premier, presumably for the purpose of
intimidating America and in that way
limiting our demands in relation to the
Philippines, has taken pains to make
public his Interpretation of the proto-
col. He processes to believe that
lasting peace is by no means a fore
gone conclusion; that the Presidents
terms were merely the basis of a tenn
porary truce for the discussion of a
treaty. OF course. these terms COM
pei Spanish evacuation of Cuba and
Porto Rico. but they do not imply the
permanent possession by the United
States of an inch of territory in the
Philippines.
Either the President Is not disposed
to demand more in those islands than
he thinks Spain will be ready to con-
cede in lieu of a money indemnity. or
else he is positive that Spain Is in too
wretched a state to renew hostilitie5,
even if the abandonment of all claims
to the Philippines should be the price
of peace. If he regarded further war
as a remote possibility, he would hard
proportion of the volunteer army.
against the wishes of the troops in
many cases.
There can be no doubt that a major
ity of the Americans who were most
loyal and helpful to the President in
the war, and who are most unstinted
now in their praise Of his course, hope
his mind is made up in favor of the
keeping of the Philippines in their en-
tirety. They would be willing to see
what Sagasta calls truce swept aside
and the completion Of the American
campaigns rather than that the Pacific
islands should pass again into the
hands Of the incurable tyrant govern
ment of Spain.
home the volunteers in the same spirit
that moves the citizens Of this COM
munity to greet the District troops
with fervor. Not all of those who are
to be discharged have had an oppor-
tunity to show their valor in battle,
but 1t is through no fault of their own
and through no lack Of urgent petitions
to be sent to the front. In but single
instance, where a company of Ohio SOL
diers were stampeded by a cowardly
captain, have the volunteers who had
the chance to fight Spaniards failed in
bravery, dash and fortitude. The
world will never witness more heroic
work from men unused to war-from
men who. a few weeks before they
were placed under fire. had seen moth
ing Of real fightinge 1t was the same
whether the troops involved were from
the Atlantic OF Pacific coast or the in
land States. If the volunteers have
seemed to receive more praise than the
regulars. 1t is only because the work
Of the latter was known in advance.
It was known that all the world can
not produce the equal Of the American
regulars. The volunteers were an
unknown quantity, and they surprised
bhe regular army officers and the