The Press., 1898-08-18
washington Letter.


Washington Letter.
washington, August Is, 1898.
Although Spain has accepted our terms
Of peace and there is not likely to be any
more fighting, unless there should be a
dead lock in the peace commission over
the disposition of the Philippines, the ex-
penditures of this government are likely
to be quite as heavy, If not heavier, for
some time to come as they were while the
war was going on. This may sound a
little queer, but it is easily explained.
The expenses of the army will not be les
sened until we begin to muster the troops
out of service, and that is a matter not
even yet thought of, as we shall have to
garrison Porto Rico and Cuba; the latter
quite heavily, for nobody knows how long,
and the expenses of the navy will be in
creased, instead of lessened, as orders
have already been issued to overhaul all
Of our heavy fighting ships as quickly as
the work can be done. In addition to
these expenses, the president has decided
that it is our duty to feed everybody in
Cuba that needs food, including the Span
ish soldiers, until such time as they can
feed themselves, and government rations
are already on the way. A strict account
will be kept of all food furnished Spanish
soldiers In Cuba, and Spain will be made
to reimburse US, but the rations issued to
others in Cuba, will simply be charged up
to war expenses, and from all accounts, it
will not be small sum that will have to
be expended for that purpose. All these
things combined will make our peace ex-
penses heavier than our war expenses, fo1
a time.
The military commissions to arrange
for the time and method of Spanish evac-
once be appointed, but it is likely to be
months before the last Spanish troop leaves
Cuba. In Porto Rico there are fewer OF
them and they will probably evacuate that
island in few weeks. For reasons en-
tirely selfish,-the health of our own
troops-we will not hurry them out OF
Cuba 1t is admitted on all sides that
this government will have several difficult
problems to solve in Cuba, not the least of
which will be the satisfactory disposal OF
insurgents. An official thoroughly famil-
lar with the insurgents says,'It will be
much easier to issue a proclamation di-
recting all Cubans to resume their ordi-
nary occupations, than it will be to get the
motley aggregation known as the insur-
gent army, to give up their arms and take
to peaceful occupations. Soldering in
their free and easy way, and taking what
ever they wanted wherever they found it,
has been the ordinary occupation of many
of them for years. and it would be as easy
to round up an equal number of American
hoboes and make them adopt regular
occupation, as 1t would be to make order
ly workmen out of the insurgents. There
are many of the insurgents who will, in
my opinion, become brigands, rather than
to work for living, just as number OF
them did at the close of the last Cuban in
surrection. If they do, they will make no
end of trouble for our army of occupation,
as the mountains of Cuba are difficult OF
access, except to the natives, and the ma
tives who do not join the brigands cannot
be depended upon to render the slightest
assistance to any movement against them.
1t is great pity that the presidents word
prevents the U. S. annexing Cuba at once
there isn't the slightest doubt about its
10 ko4 ~, II
there will be lots of trouble in Cuba, as
we try to live up to our promise, that the
island shall have stable government. 1t
is my opinion that no stable government
will ever exist in Cuba, except that of the
U. s. and feel certain that nine out OF
every ten property holders on the island,
regardless of their nationality, hold the
same opinion"
There is very little probability that an
extra session of the senate will have to be
called to ratify the treaty of peace that is
to be negotiated with Spain, for the very
good reason that the treaty is not likely
to be ready before congress assemblies for
the regular session, in December. The
protocol or Temporarily peace agreement
Of the two governments, provides that the
joint commission, charged with the duty
of negotiating the treaty, shall meet at
Paris, not later than October 1, next.
The well-known disposition of the Spanish
to postpone, makes it practically certain
that the commissioners representing Spain
will not be there a day earlier than that
mentioned as the last upon which they
can meet our commissioners. AS the
Philippines will be the subject of the most
controversy, it is among the probabilities
that the commission may visit the island.
II so, that would consume at least six
weeks time. Diplomats, who know some
thing Of the inside workings of such COM
missions, do not expect the treaty to be
complete much, If any before the first of
the year, and would not be surprised
should it be several weeks after that be-
fore the treaty was signed.