The Press., 1898-09-15
Washington Letter.
Washinrton. sept. 1a. 1sas.

Washington, Sept. 12, 1898.
 Gen. Miles and Gen. Shafter are not only in Washington, but they have met, shaken hands and ehatted together as friendly as any two old comrades might be expected to do. This must be surpris- ing to those who believed, or pretended to believe, that when the two men met, there would be drawn swords and a con- test of the regulation "Three Guardsmen" order. If the men are really as unfriend- ly towards each other as one might infer from reading recent newspaper publica- tions, they are both past masters in the art of concealing their feelings. There was certainly no signs of enmity when they met In the office of Gen. Miles, in the war department, that could be de- tected. Gen. Miles will talk every time he gets an opportunity about the neces- sity of enlarging the regular army and the recommendation he intends making to congress on that subject, but he says the statement he gave out as soon as he landed in New York contained all he has to say at present concerning the cam- paigns In Cuba and Porto Rico. It is be- lieved that the president will take no mo- tlce officially of what Gen. Miles said re- fecting on the war department, unless circumstances compel him to do SO, if Miles doesn't do any more of the same sort of talking. He has met Miles twice since he returned to Washington, but nothing was said by either about those newspaper publications.
 The president has decided to have an investigation of the entire conduct of the war made by a commission of the most prominent men he can get to assume the task-men whose names will cause any thing they say to be accepted by every body without question-for the purpose of trying to put an end to the charges and counter charges now being printed in the newspapers. While the Alger Miles wrangle is said to have had nothing to do with the idea of having this investiga- tion, which was ostensibly asked for by Secretary Alger, 1t may have much to do with it, as Gen. Miles Is not a witness that Is likely to be overlooked by the commission. That he is anxious for the investigation all the world knows. The heads of the departments of the army most directly concerned in the investiga- tion-the commissary general, the quar- termaster general and the surgeon general all say that they will welcome the most rigid investigation into the acts of their several departments, and Gen. Shafter assured the president, personally, that | the more thorough the investigation of everything connected with the campaign against Santiago was made, the better it would please him, because he was certain 1t would result in adding to the credit of the men who took part in that remark able campaign, and in making the people more clearly understand the nature of the difficulties that were successfully sur mounted.
 No president for a long time has been on such good terms with congress as Mir. Mckinley has been and Is likely to con- tinue, as long as he sticks to present methods. He never does anything i'm portant before comforting with members | his own party, but of all parties. He asks them to freely express their views, and frequently adopts them as better or more expedient than his own. Nothing could more distinctly accentuate the presidents policy of keeping in touch with congress than the personnel of the Amer ican end of the peace commission, which Is to meet at Paris, Oct. 1, to negotiate a treaty of peace between the U. s. and Spain, that shall determine the future government of the Philippines. Three out of the five commissioners are sena- tors-Davis, Frye and Gray-and all of them are members of the senate commit tee on foreign relations, which will neces- sarily be an important factor in deter mining whether the senate will rstify the treaty, after it Is made. The first two are republicans, and the last a democrat. The president is doubtless correct in as- cunning that any treaty approved by these senators is likely to be approved by the necessary two-thirds of the senate. The other two commissioners are Secretary | Ddy aAA w hAI0AdW ANC1As 4hOy WILL COue to Washington this week for their in- structions, and will sail from New York on the 17th inst.
 If what comes from the Isthnus oi Panama can be believed, and this govern. ment constructs the Nicaragua canal there are likely to be two canals between the Atlantic and the Pacific. A gentle man from Panama, now in Washington who has no reason to exaggerate, said
 Although there Is not much talk about 1t in the newspapers, the construction work now in progress on the Panams canal Is on a scale of magnitude which will bring the enterprise to a successful issue. There are now over four thousand men employed on the canal, and the work Is being done In thorough and scientific fashion. Had the first company proceed ed as carefully as the present one, tho canal would have been in operation long ere this, but the first company squandereC millions, hardly leaving a thing to show for the money that was spent like water. A new invention is one to make tele- graph wire out of paper. The interior cable is lead covered, and thin spirals