The age-herald., 1898-09-15
LINE OF POLICY
 AGREED UPON Members of Peace Commission
 Meet With President NOTHING WAS DIVU[GED As to Conclusions Arrived at During the Conference. THE PHILIPPINE QUESTION WILL Be the Bone of Contention at the
 Sittings in Paris.
Be the Bone of Contention at the
 Sittings in Paris.
ISLANDS HAvEBEEN CONQUERED
And the American Representative Will Insist in Negotiating Their Dispo- sition on This Basis-Luzon
 Will Be Retained.
Washington, September A.-The members

Washington, September 4-The members of the peace commission, Secretary Day, Senator Davis and White-aw Reid We're in conference for two hours at the state de- partment today. Senator Frye, 1t was stated, would arrive tomorrow morni. and join In the conference of the commiA- sioners. The plans of Senator Gray, the sixth member, are not exactly know n, though he, too, is expected to join his as- sociates in their conferences tomorrow. The president will give dinner at the white house tomorrow night at which the commissioners will be the principal guests. all the members of the cabinet in the city also being present. It is stated positive that the dinner will be purely of a social character and the reports that it will serve the purpose of full and final discus sion of the Philippine question are unwar- ranted. The commissioners will leave here Friday in order to take the Campania on Saturday.
 The meeting at Secretary Days office to- day was for the purpose of going over the whole question of the peace settlement. It is the first time MT. Reid has exchanged views with his colleagues the subject. The same rigid reticence whi- h has thus far prevailed continues to be observed and as the commissioners came from their two hours sitting they positively declined to discuss any questions relating to the com- mission. Leading members of the conl- mission stated imperatively that all re- ports relative to the instruction of the commissioners or the attitude of the United States were purely conjectural. It Is point ed out that the interest of this country ;1bt how praiu1icp1 if it's attitude was made known in advance of the meeting at Paris so that the commls- sioners have agreed among themselves to authorize no statement as to their opinion as a body or as individuals
 Satisfaction Expressed
 In official quarters much satisfaction was expressed today over the reports from Madrid that the lower house of parliament had passed the government bill accepting the terms of the protocol. The upper house has already passed this measure, so that the last fear of legislative opposition to the transfer of Cuba, the Ladrones and Porto Rico is over. The authorities here feel that this carries them by a dangerous point as it has been the fear for some time that the animosities in the Spanish cortes would lead to the defeat of the Sagasta ministry on the question of evacuating the Spanish islands either in one branch or the other.
 There is little doubt but that a general line of policy was agreed upon by the pres- ident and his cabinet at their meeting late yesterday afternoon, but there is good req son for believing that the assertion to the effect that the decision was definitely in
 
 condition to retain sovereignty in any part of the Philippine islands is based on mis- conception. AS the members of the clL.- net and members of the peace commission refuse absolutely to discuss the subject with newspaper men, therefore whatever is said is based more less on inference or roundabout information. It is not doubted that the commission will start the negotiations at Paris with the assertion that we have conquered Spain in the Phil ippines and that Spanish sovereignty has already been forfeited there. This will not, however, necessarily signify that it is the purpose of the administration to retain possession of the entire group of islands or to permanetly deprive Spain of all her possessions in the Pacific.
 Rights of This Gov, rnment
 It is not believed that the administration has gone beyond the determination to re- tain the whole of the island of Luzon, but it Is understood to be the intention of the president to establish at the outset the right of this government to determine the fate of the islands and to make the condi- tons under which government shall be es- tablished there. / The matter of relinquish- ing possession of the rest of the islands is involved with so many conditions to be con- sidered that it is realized that it may by force of circumstances become necessary to deprive Spain permanently of all her possessions in that quarter. It is under stood to be not matter of policy to acquire all this territory, but 1t may become ne- cessity. The commercial and technical sides