The times., 1898-03-06
THE WAR CLOUD LOWERING
Prospects for a Fight With the
DOns Growing.
STILL SEEKING WARSHIPo
The Stock Jobbers Making Desper-
ate Efforts to Conceal the True
Condition of Henry Clews
Gives Assurance That the Peace
at-Any Price Policy VIII Prevail.

The prospects for war with Spain at
the beginning of this week are greater
than at any time since the dastardly
blow was struck that sent the wrecked
hulk of the great battleship Maine and
her crew to the bottom of Havana har-
bor And this despite the very evident
determination of the Administration to
avert the fight if possible.
The most significant of all the war
preparations yet under way are the ar
rangements for the purchase of warships
fully outlined in The Times yesterday.
The meaning of these arrangements is
not in the least that Mr.. Long has any
fear of war.
prominent officer said to a reporter
for The Times yesterday in this regard:
There is. of course. the possibility of a
conflict, the possibility for instance that
the people will not allow the peace policy
to be carried to the extreme that the Ad-
ministration is perfectly willing to go.
This the President and his advisers do
not fear very much. however. They may
| be wrong in their fancied security. This
! is the least of the reasons for this war
| like measure I believe. There is the we'll
| known idea of making ones self strong to
! avoid fighting. And there is also l am
! convinced, a playing for the peoples APP
| proval. Both Spain and this country
are making war-like preparations but the
! financiers Of the two governments are
| thoroughly in accord as TO the peace-at-
! any-price policy, and even as to how 1t
snail be carried out.
| Whatever the reasons for all this aTdOr
4 .f@.- ,V.g h..
| facts cannot but attract the attention Of
! the public and cause it intense sdtisfac-
| ton. If Congress takes the matter into
! its hands despite Mr.. Mckinley, nothing
] of the results OF Mr.. Longs and Mr.. AL
gers activity will be lost. The account OF
the negotiations for ships was read in The
| Times with much interest, and there were
! many comments on it
The facts of the account may be veri-
fed though there may be some official
denial of them in part. 1t was gives out
officially yesterday that the Secretary of
! the Navy has had several conferences
/ with representatives of the owners Of the
various ships the Government desires.
! and that they can be secured by the
/ United States at any time. The prices
that shall be paid have been agreed upon.
In the cases of the ships that are not
! completed the builders are making all
| haste.
/ The naval attaches of the Government
| In the various European countries know
| accurately all the facts worth knowing
| as TO every vessel that floats. and is for
/ sale, or could be secured. They are also
| entirely familiar with all the shipyards
| and with all the uucompleted vessels.
| These people have let the owners Of the
| ships know that. in case OF war, the
United States will be the highest bidder
| and will pay cash on delivery without
| any questions asked
| Spain's preparations. however, are GER
| tainly as active as Mr. Mc&inley's. Spain
| was the first in the field. and has already
| secured several of the ships that the
/ United States would have desired. The
| supply of warships looking for pur-
| chasers is very limited. When the war
| comes there win be hot censure of the
| Administration for it's dilatory tactics at
| first. There are at least six vessels now
| in the possession Of Spain that the United
| States might have secured. 1t is also
| pointed out that when war is declared
the laws Of neutrality will not allow the
| further sale of ships by outsiders to
| either power.
The weekly stock market letter of Mr.
| Henry CleWs, one Of the inspired capi.
| talists Of the Hanna combination. IS a
| very clear commentary on the peace-at-
any-price policy as it was described fully
in The Times yesterday. Mr.. CIews first
alludes to the remarks of Secretary Long
eXonerating Spain from any responsible
ity for the Maine tragedy.
Secretary Long 5 utterances should bt
accepted as eliminating the Spanish gov
ernment from criminal connection witt
he Maine disaster, as he, being Secre
tary of the Navy. and a pretty clear.
headed man. evidently knows whereof
he speaks"
Mr.. Clews also says that if Spain was
indirectly, through the act Of some IA
matte, responsible for the disaster, tn,
s~LaStter OF indemnity should be left tC
eratiun. He concludes this portion o
his letter with the suggestion that TN
Maine disaster should not be considered
any longer particularly disturbing mat
ter
Having thus satisfactorily disposed O
( the Maine he says of the larger Cuban
question in general: Now the question
comes up. what is to be done on the par
of our Government in the matter of Cuba
as the crisis appears to be near at hand
! II is generally admitted that we do no
want to annex the island and be CON
1 pelied to make the Cuban people Ameri
! can citizens. IT is the least desirabI,
thing TO do. The Cubans would deriv,
no good from our Government recogniz
ing the belligerency Of the insurgents. bu