The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-05-14
FRANCE PLAYING FAIR.
The Government Finds No Ground
for Com plant.

for Complaint.
Washington, May 14.-The officials of
the state and navy departments strong
ly deprecate as mischievous and dan
gerous the efforts to create the impress
sion that France is not acting up to the
rule in the observance of strict neutral
ity between the United States and
Spain. They say even that if there were
some slight foundation for the state
ments, the time is very inopportune for
newspaper attacks that might even in
VOlVe France in the present hOStilitieS.
AS a matter of fact they say there is no
evidence of any disposition on the part
of the French colonial officials in the
West Indies to discriminate against the
United States in favor of Spain.
If there has been delay in transmits
sion of cablegrams from Martinique to
the United States, or in the reverse di-
rection, our government is not in pos
session of any evidence tending in the
slightest degree to show that obstacles
were purpOsely interposed. AS far as
the matter of coaling is concerned, there
is also an entire absence, as yet, at
least, of any evidence that the Spanish
fleet was accorded any undue advant-
age in this respect.
If they took coal at Martinique and
even this is not certainly known, much
would depend upon the quantity allow
ed. The practice is to give ships in
such circumstances just enough to car
ry them to the nearest home port, which
might be Porto Rico or Cuba
If the SpaniardS replenished their
coal bunkers from colliers lying in the
port, an interesting question would be
raised. In fact the application of neu-
trality laws to such cases as are now
presented by the frequent movements
of both American and Spanish war
ships is very much bec1ouded. A dis
tinguished official, one of the leading
lights in the construction of information
a nOinfad tn that there
were few precedents of value to guide
a neutral government Just now, and the
probabilities are that by the time the
present war is at an end, the United
States, just as it did in the war of the
rebellion, will make a good many pre-
cedentS and a good deal of internation-
al law for the guidance of the family
of nations hereafter. Such a question
as that presented by the action of the
French authorities in OBTAINING the Uni
ted States ship Harvard at st. Pierre
for "a hours after the departure of the
Spanish torpedo boat destroyer Terror,
which she found in that port, raises in
itself host of interesting questions and
reveals the fact that there is nothing
like an absolutely uniform rule in the
matter. Some nations require, when
two belligerent vessels meet in their
ports, that the first conner shall depart
first, while the other shall be detained
"a hours. Another rule is that the
weaker vessel shall be allowed to de-
part first, in order to prevent the
stronger from lying in wait for her out
side. In other cases still, the second
boat is not detained in port "a hours,
but the neutral contents itself with
pledge from the commanding officer of
the belligerent ship that he will not
engage in hostilities with the other ship
until "a hours shall elapse after his de-
parture from port. Generally, these
rules were founded on the old practice
that obtained in the days of the sailing
ship, and they have not been modified
to meet the needs of modern service.
The matter of coal supply is also OBJ
scured by doubtful interpretations in
construction.
AS far as the Harvard is concerned,
the rule has not worked to our hard
ship. On the contrary, the officials here
are rather inclined to be grateful to the
French authorities for their concession
of the privilege to the Harvard to re-
main in port until she has completed
some necessary repairs to her machln-
ery With a number of Spanish tor
pedo boats and cruisers lurking around
Martinique, there is no disposition on
the part of the naval department to eX-
pose to their attack a vessel like the
Harvard without much defensive pow
er. The state department satisfied it
self as far as possible to do so, before
making the statement, that no French
artillery men had been landed by the
Iafayette at Havana. They are now
inclined to think, after looking at the
matter carefully, that the whole basis
for this absurd story grew out of a re-
mark by some naval officers that the
superior gun fire of the Spanish at Car
denas made it very evident in view OF
their wretched shooting before that,
that some FrenchInen must have come
over to help them out.