Daily Kennebec journal., 1898-05-07
GENERAL WAR SITUATION.
Continued from page 1.)

Sve programme, it is not at all surpris-
through dispatch boat.
The state department is in close
touch with Consul Wildeman at Hong
Kong. who is expected to supply the
earliest possible news from the Philip
pines The only message received from
the consul, today. was one informing
the department that four families of
refuge and from the Philippines had
petitioned for admission to United
States citizenship, something manifest
ly impossible for the consul to grant
under the naturalization laws.
1t is barely possible that the first
news to come may be through British
sources, as all British cable subventions
contain a clause giving the British gov
ernment the precedence in the use of
the cable in an emergency.
Respecting Admiral SIMPSONS move
ments the department is still mute. al
news is expected on that subject with
in the next three days. Therefore, it
is quite certain that the officials pay no
attention to the rumor which originates
in London to the effect that Sampson
has undertaken campaign in the Can
aries, since il would be manifestly i'm
fo, l,. RI \,
Canaries within so short a space of
time as three days. Again the monitors
in this fleet could not carry coal enough
to make the passage Moreover, the
naval strategy board is not sending out
notifications of contemplated strategic
moves.
A leading diplomatic official said
there was no reason why foreign ma
tions should be given advance informa
tion of an attack on the CanarieS. Since
the United States was conducting a
war, it had the right, he said, to choose
its own points of attack without keep
ing other governments advised of its
purpose.
The London report that Continental
powers We're seeking to have England
join them in Intervention also was lack
ing in verification in official and dip
lomatic quarters here. The state de-
partment has received no suggestion Of
such intervention and does not believe
it is contemplated. The foreign repre-
sentatives here, including those IF
Great Britain, France. Germany and
Russia, meet these reports with specific
denias and declare that intervention
is not being discussed in any way at
the present time.
These officials have been fully con-
versant with all the previous moves
toward intervention and they doubtless
would be aware if such a move was on
foot at present. The utterance of En-
peror William before the Reichstag, to-
day, confirms what the German officials
here have maintained from the start,
that Germany would observe strict
neutrality even though no decree of
neutrality were issued. Russian Off
cials take the same view as to the pur-
pose of Russia to keep out of any in
tervention which would be inimcal to
the United States
The French authorities here do not
consider intervention a live question a.
present and. since France issued her
decree of neutrality, the French officials
dismiss reports that France viii parti-
cipate in intervention. The British
officials have received no word CON
cerning recent moves for intervention
and they consider such moves as quite
inopportune under existing circum-
stances.
leading member of the diplomatic
corps said. today: For what could we
intervene? 1t could not be because the
United States had occupied the Philip
pines, because we do not yet know that
the Philippines are occupied. Ii could
not be because Porto Rico may be oc-
cupied, for we have no official infor-
nation yet that any movement against
that island is contemplated. In fact
even if Continental Europe desires to
intervene. it has no facts before it thus
far on which to base intervention
The German ambassador has been re-
inforced by the arrival of Capt. Lieut.
Won Rebur of the imperial German
navy, who becomes naval attache OF
the embassy here. He called at tbs
navy department.. today wearing the
full uniform and the chapeau of the
German navy. He presented creden
tials from the German admiralty which
will insure him every proper facility
for making observations The German
government thus will have Count Noi
GoetZen to make military observation.
and Capt. Won Rebur to make nava
observations.