The San Francisco call., 1898-03-09

@ NEW YORK. March S.-The 5. s Herald's Washington correspoh- e & dent telegraphs: Amid the war @ s2 like preparations now actively in e sS progress there is a peaceful tone 6s SS 10 all the utterances of Federal a s2 officials in Washington. A sense a s2 of security has come over them es s3 as a result of the universal sup os s3 port given to the Presidents os s2 recommendation for strengthen s s2 ing our national defenses, and 6s s9 the extraordinary action of the os g House of Representatives in vot- os s2 ing without a dissenting vote un- os s3 precedented powers to the Pres 6s sS ident. 6s s2 Troublesome times are still 6s s3 ahead, they all admit, but they os & can now use every resource of q e9 the country to prepare for trou- os g ble, and they believe Spain's 6s e2 knowledge of this will lead her to ss S hesitate and to avoid conflict. o. They may misjudge the temper of the Spanish people. and may underestimate the present war sentiment in Spain, but it Is demonstrated by talks l had to- day with several high Federal officials
  elaborate military and naval prepara- tions will tend to stave off rather than provoke war.
 The authorities all admit, however, that we have not yet reached the dan ger point of the situation. It is coming soon.
 Within a very short time the find ings of the Court of Inquiry investi-
 cfa N1rfl1 ha the hands of the President. There is no longer a shadow of doubt in the minds of the administration that the board will find that the vessel was Slo1.4s up by some external agency. was assured of this by a high official who, while stating that he did not know just when the report would be sub- nitted. said enough was already known to leave no room for doubt that Spair would be held responsible for the Maine disaster.
 While convinced. as Secretary Lont publicly stated some days ago, tha Spain as a Government did not partici- pate In the affair, my informant was equally certain that no accident caused the disaster, and that Spain will have to be held responsible for the loss o the ship and the slaughter of her crew
 Further evidence of the conviction O the administration that the fundamen tai cause of the disaster was an out side explosion, is to be found In tn preparation of data upon which to for mulate a demand for indemnity iron Spain, which Is now in progress.
 There was another significant de velopment to-day. I was told by higi official that the President is now con sidering the advisability of coupling the Maine disaster with the genera Cuban question. It was officially de clared some days ago that the tive matters were to be regarded as en tfrely distinct. From what l was tolC to-day, however, it seems probable tha when the demand for indemnity i made upon Spain it will be eithe coupled with or immediately followed b! another representation in regard to th' general Cuban question, having for it! purpose the immediate ending of the war in Cuba. 1 have positive knowledge that the President is being urged by many influential men in Congress tc accompany his demand for indemnity with notice to Spain that the war IT Cuba must stop, and that the United States stands ready to use its good of fees to bring about this result in 8 manner honorable and fair to all parties concerned.
 There are some who wish the Presi- dent to go even farther and insist upor Spain giving Cuba independence as one of the conditions upon which we vii accept indemnity for the Maine disas
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