The San Francisco call., 1898-12-11
AMERICANS
 AND SPAN|ARDS
 AFF|X NAMES Imposing Climax of Negotiations. END OF EPILoGUE OF WAR DOCUMENTS SEALED WITH THE FRENCH TRICoLoR. Now That the Treaty Is Concluded the United States Will Com- mence to Carry Out It's
 Provisions.
END OF EPILoGUE OF WAR
DOCUMENTS SEALED WITH THE
 FRENCH TRICoLoR.
Special Dispatch to The Call.


 PARIS, Dec 1O-The treaty of peac, between the United States and Spai1 was signed at 8:45 o'clock this even ing.
 The signing of the treaty to-nigh would have afforded a subject for great historical painting The groul gathered about the table in the statel! chamber of the Foreign Office was i'm pressive in itself, while the fact tha the sense of the m0mentousness of tn, issues which the act decided was deepl, felt by all the participants gave an i'm pressive and solemn tone to the scene
 Around the great mahogany table Sd the ten arbiters of the destiny of an olC and young nation. Ranged about ant behind were numerous attaches of the American Commission. The jets from the crystal chandeliers above the heads of those present magnifed the brilliant green and scarlet of the upholsterings in their gaudiness.
 There was a contrast between the black-clothed arbiters and the scenery. To the Americans it was a happy end ing of the epilogue of war; for the Spaniards 1t was plainly a bitter trag- edy, none the less painful because long foreseen. They sat silently, as though almost crushed, and none could with hold sympathy for Montero Rios, the president of the Spanish Commission who, coming from his bed, was bundled In a great overcoat, though logs were burning in the fireplace near by.
 The spirits of the bodies were sym bolized by the clothing worn by the members of the commission, for the Americans were attired in evening dress for the dinner given them imme- dtately after the meeting by the Due de Loubat, and the Spaniards wore black frock coats.
 half-past 3 o'clock, expecting to finish their work in half an hour, the en- crossing of the treaty on parchment was found to be so troublesome that it delayed the signing Of the document until SEQ. Clerk Martin of the Ameri- can Commission worked all day with out stopping to eat When he came into the chamber at 7:SO with the docu- ment he found the Commissioners waiting. The Spanish copy had ar rived half an hour earlier. MT. Fergu- son then proceeded to read first the English and after that the Spanish yer sion of the treaty. This finished, the LNO COpleS were passed around the table, the Commissioners signing them in the order of their rank-William B. Day, Senator Cushman K. Davis, Sen- ator William P. Frye, Whitelaw Reid and Senator George Gray; Senor Mon tero Rios, Senor Abaruza, Senor Gar mica, Senor Villaurutia and General Cerrero y Saons, each Commissioner signing his opponents treaty. Both were tied with the Spanish and Ameri- can colors.
 When the seals were prepared to be affixed attendants were sent scurrying for ribbons of the French tricolor, with which the documents were sealed, as a compliment to the French hosts of the commission.
 Many officials interestedly watched every detail of the proceedings. The last seal being impressed, the Commis- sioners rose, and without formality each member shook the hands of all his antagonists and exchanged assur- ances of sincere personal esteem.
 The Spaniards afterward commented acridiy upon what they termed the bad taste of the Americans in mastering a crowd of attaches to gloat over the con- summation of their downfall and the scramble for relics.
 The signing was finished at S:45 o'clock. At that time the door of the chamber opened, and Senor Villaurutia appeared, and exclaimed to a group of correspondents who were waiting in the bers of the Spanish commission fol- lowed Senor Villaurutia, and passed silently through the vestibule to their waiting carriages. The American Com missioners strolled out, chatting com placently, and as they descended the steps the lights in the chamber were darkened.
 There has been a great contest among the families and friends of the American Commissioners for posses sion of the pens with which the sig natures were written. Some of the Americans were provided with hand some pens purchased for the purpose. The Spaniards appeared to be unaffected by the souvenir craze and contented themselves with the or dinary quill pens strewn on the table.
 Arthur Ferguson, the interpreter of the American commission, requested Senor Montero Rios to give him his pen, saying: Have you any desire to preserve the pen with which you will sign?"
 "Not in the slightest" said the Span iard with a courtly bow.
 The treaty as signed consists of seventeen articles, it having been found advisable to subdivjde two or three of the articles in the draft agreed upon at the last meeting. The Com missioners of the two nations wrote their signatures on two copies of the treaty, one copy being for the archives.
 The document was prepared by Sec retary Moore in behalf of the United States Commission and by Senor Vil- laurutia for Spain. on account of the continued illness of Secretary Oieda of the Spanish Commission. Each copy contains the English and Span ish texts of the treaty in parallel columns. The wording has been ap- proved previously by the commissions without a joint meeting, so there was no controversy on this subject.