, 1898-08-11
PEACE SITUATION
PRELIMINARY NEGOTIATIONS AID
VANCED A LONG STEP
YESTERDAY.
Secretary Of State and French Am
bassador Agreed Upon Terms and
Reduced Them to a Protocol,
Which, However, Must Be Submit
ted to the Spanish Government.

liminary negotiations looking toward
confirmation of peace advanced a lont
step today. when the secretary Of stat
and the French ambassador agreed up
on terms upon which future negOtia'
lions for a treaty are to be conducted
and reduced these to the form of a pro
tocol. This protocol, 1t is true, is We
to be signed and is to be submitted t.
the Spanish government before the for
NAL signatures are affixed, but the ad'
ministration's views as to the progress
made today was set out in Secretary
Days sentence. "It is expected that
this protocol will be executed"
There is always a possibility in a
dealing with the Spanish government
that it may recede at the last moment
from an implied agreement, but it is
scarcely probable 1t would be willing
to involve the French ambassador in
the difficulties that would follow what
to all the world would seem to be a re-
pudiation of his benevolent effort on
the Dehalf or Spain.
There must be a delay, possibly from
tweny-four to forty-eight hours, be-
fore the next step can be taken, and
the protocol made binding upon both
the United States and Spain by the at
tachment Of the signatures Of plenipo-
tentiaries, Secretary Day for the Unit
ed States and NJ Cambon for Spain.
The delay will be largely attributable
to physical causes. as the protocol is
long and it must be translated and
turned back and forth into the code
and simple language no less than five
times before it reaches Madrid through
the French ambassador. This work
was not begun until late this afternoon
after it had consumed the best energies
of Assistant Secretary Adee OF the
state department and NJ. Theibut, sec
rotary Of the French embassy, in pre-
pairing in the formal share of two cop
les CT the protocol, in English and
one in French. These were prepared
very carefully, idiomatic variance in
the two languages necessating the
greatest caution in order that the lido
matte character of the two copies
should be preserved.
The length of protocol imposed a
great amount of labor upon the cipher
clerks, or whoever is charged with the
work Of rendering the original ci-
rher, SO that altogether his apparent
consumption of time involved in purely
mechanical function will be so consid-
cradle as to make the rendition Of a
very early answer improbable.
AS to the character of the protocol, it
can be stated on authority thai the
terms are, in all practical points, those
set out in the abstract of the presi-
dents conditions published from the
White House a week g From this
fast 1t is deduced that the extra condi-
tions or qualifications sought to be i'm
posed by the Spanish government were
abandoned, at least in a large part, by
the French ambassador. This deduc-
ton is supported by circumstances that
in earlymorningand before the
conference between Secretary Day and
NJ. Cambon, which resulted in agree
ment. There is a prevalent impression,
based upon the utterances of public
men who had talked with the presi-
dent, that the Spanish answer was I'M.
satisfactory, and that the negotiations
looked as if they might terminate sud
denly. AS this situation changed 50
suddenly after the conference, 1t may
be fairly assumed that the ambassador
abandoned the condition which the
president was reputed to have regarded
as unsatisfactory.
1t is believed the protocol carries
within itself provisions for the cessa-
ton OF hostilities. On this point the
naval contingent is urgent that our
government adopt the Napoleon pol
icy of refusing to enter into an armis-
tice without acquiring some substantial
pledge to secure a contamination Of
peace. what they particularly desire
is THAT our government shall demand
as a condition to the cessation of hos
Titles the surrender to the United
States military forces of MORO Castle
at the entrance of Havana harbor and
some points Of vantage at the other
important ports In the territory soon
to fall under our control.
The peace negotiations are now be-
lieved to be advanced to a point where
the president has felt warranted In
turning his attention to the selection
OF commissioners to be charged by the
United States with drafting a treaty
OF peace. So far as AN be gathered.
but one name has been positively de-
termined upon. namely that Of Score
tary Day, who will head the commits
sion.
Two troopers named Moon and ANGEL
were among the caynh~ n Comn Al.