The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-12-19
ERROR OF ANNEXATION
CHARGED TO MKINLEYI
THE PEACE COMMISSION ACTEn
UNDER PRESSURE OF ORDERS
FROM WASHINGTON
UNANIMOUS ACTION WAS
0VERRULED BY Mr.. HAY.

SeiAihs or the Philippines, Says tho
Senator From Delaware, Was
Simple RuthIessness-wiu Uo+
Tor the Confirmation of the
Treaty, and Then for the Free.
dom of the Islands.
SOUTHAMPTON, Dec. 1S. - Senator
gray OF Delaware, a member of the
ans peace commission, who sailed
Yesterday with the other members of
'the commission for the United States
Is openly opposed to the treaty which
was signed with Spain. Before sail.
ing he stated his opposition pladnIv
ana bluntly He believes 1t to he q
nlunder for the United States to annex
the philippines, and that the Demo-A
cratic party has a right to charee
PRESIDENT Mckinley and his adminis-
trat1on with responsibility for the
plunder. The senator regards the ac.
t1on Of the United States in forcing
spain to give up the Philippines as
SIMPLE ruthlessness. He believes that
we have exchanged the moral leader :
snip of nations for the mere vulgar
instinct Of acquisition.
The senator signed the treatv o%
peace in spite of his serious objections
because the treaty put an end to war.
and not to have signed it would have
meant chaos.
The commission" he said, "acted
almost entirely in obedience to in
struct1ons from Washington, and the
responsibility belongs to Mckinley and
his cabinet"
Ihe state department, 1t Is asserted
mere, even went so far in directing the
peace commissioners that a unanimous
recommendation cabled by the COM
m1ss1oners from Paris was rejected
chairman Day and Senator Grav were
IN favor of extending the Spanish com
mercial privileges in the Philippines to
Forto Rico for ten years. The other
commissioners opposed this. PresentIv
senator Frye Joined Chairman nav
and Senator Gray. At this point g.
Ietary Hay instructed the commission
ers to reject the Spanish proposal for
special privileges In Porto Rico The
whole commission then cabled +o
Washington asking for discretionary
A.
bled back was: "Mr. HAY ia firm in
MS decision" When the answer was
read to the commissioners no one
spoke except Senator Frye, who said,
Mr.. Hay is firm, huh2"
Senator Gray thinks the treaty will
be confirmed by the senate, because
not to confirm it would be to leave
the situation in chaos. After the SEN
ate has confirmed the treaty he favors
either the giving back Of the Philip
pines to Spain under proper guaran-
tee or absolute independence for the
people of the archipelago.
The senator makes no secret of his
firm conviction that annexation of the
philippines means the abandonment
of the path of national safety. and the
beginning Of an era Of ill-consfdered
and adventurous policy, dominated by
brute force.
Senator Davis, on the contrary, de-
clared that the administration had won
great victory in the terms of peace,
and had opened out a glorious path,
through which the American republic
would enter powerfully into the SUI
preme council Of nations, and through
tiply and her flag be carried into all
seas. Senator Davis was confident
that the senate would confirm the
treaty. Not to do so, he said would
be crime against history In reply
to question, he said:
THE future administration of the
Philippines was incidentally consid-
cred by US during the recent discus
sion. The result Of the deliberations
on that question most probably will
be laid before the government in the
form of suggestions. The future ad-
minlstration Of the islands doubtless
will proceed on the general lines of
the British administration Of the
Straits Settlements, the Malay Arch
ipelago, and what are termed crown
colonies, but modified according to spe-
cial local conditions.
81 expect that the treaty will be rati-
fed by the senate before March g. or,
if it is not that an extraordinary ses-
sion Of the new senate will be called
for the purpose. I believe the treaty
will be ratified. All the indications are
in that direction.
Commercial questions, navigation.
cable stations and so forth were ex-
cluded from the treaty, otherwise the
negotiations would have been pro-
longed until next Christmas
"Our relations with the Spanish COM
missioners were uniformly friendly.
Nothing was said across the table
which either side could take offense at,
though the American demands and
statements always were put in the
most concise and direct way. There
were dramatic moments, but no ap-
proach to rupture"