Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1898-08-18
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular Correspondent.
WASHINGTON, August Is, 1898.

From our Regular Correspondent.
WASHINGTON, August Is, 1898.
Mr.. Mckinley is still in doubt as to the
policy we should pursue towards the
/ Philippines. 1t wss that doubt that
caused the temporary peace agreement,
signed by representatives of the two gov
ernments, to prDvde that the Commits
sioners to negotiate the treaty of peace,
which shall determine the final disposition
of the Philippines should meet at Paris,
not later than October /, when it would
have been easy to have saved a month by
having the Commission meet September /.
The Spanish government was quick to
recognize this doubt on the part of Mr.
Mckinley, and to act upon il; it has issued
a statement to the Spanish people saying
that they had reason to believe the Peace
Commission would allow Spain to retain
the Philippines. What the policy of the
administration is to be towards the Philip
pines will be palmer after Mr.. Mckinley
names the five American Peace Commits
sioners The only one yet known is secre-
tary Day, who may be considered as Mr..
McKinley's mOuth-piece and personal
representative. II is daily becoming palmer
that great mistake was made in allowing
Spain to have any say as to the disposition
of the Philippines. While there are diff
ferences of opinion among our people, as TO
our keeping the islands, the opinion is
practically unanimous that Spain should
not be allowed to retain them. 1t will be
| farcical for as TO talk about driving Spain
out OF Cuba and Porto Rico for the sake of
humanity, and then to allow Spain TO keep
the Philippines after they were practically
| in our possession. We should not copfne
our humanity to the Cubans, else foreigners
will refuse to beleye that it is humanity.
The Government is preparing to send
food to Cuba, not only for the insurgents,
but for all that need it, including the
Spanish soldiers, but the Red Cross Society
is ahead Of the Cove nment, as it is already
distributing food and other relief in Cuba.
If the Democrats do not elect majority
of the House. this year, it will not be the
fault of the Democratic Congressional
Campaign Committee, which is preparing
for a vigorous campaign with confident
expectations of success. While the Com
mittee will, as usual, furnish the candidates
with the kind of literature they think will
be most effective in their districts, it will
also distribute literature crlticising the war
revenue law, because of its being harder
upon the poor than upon the rich; showing
up some of the many evils resulting from
Secretary Alger's using the War Depart
ment as a Republican partisan machine,
and the financial question will not be neg
lected, but will be discussed in accordance
with the Chicago platform. Democrats
who have visited the Committee headquar-
tiers, without exception, regard the close OF
the war at this time as decidedly advanta-
geous for the Democratic party: because it
will enable them to bring other questions
to the attention of the voters and because
it will prevent the other side going into the
campaign with a false plea that vote
against Republican candidate would be
vote against the conduct of the war. II
| has not yet been determined whether the
administration should be attacked for its
action in giving Spain too much 10 say
through the three joint commissions pro-
vided for in the terms of peace, when il
could Just as easily have settled everything
in the terms themselves, which Spain
would have been bound to accept anyway,
although such action is being strongly
advocated.
| There is some very strong talk among
the Senators and Representatives, who have
been in Washington since Sampson was
advanced eight numbers and promoted TO
be Rear Admiral. while Schley, who was
also promoted to be Rear Admiral, was
only advanced six numbers, which makes
Sampson one number ahead of him, instead
of one number behind him, as he was
before these promotions were made. While
it is not regarded as likely that any attempt
will be made to hang up SIMPSONS promo
ton in the Senate, it is almost certain thai
occasion will be taken 10 both House and
Senate, to show that he owes it more to
| favoritism than to anything he did. Il
will not be surprising, either, should the
resolution offered by Representative Berry,
extending the thanks of Congress to Schley
for destroying Ceyeras fleet be adopted.
| 1t is stated at the War Department that
no troops will be discharged until it is
known how many will be needed to garri
son Porto Rico and Cuba, and it will be
some time before that is known, as military
commissions are first to meet at San Juan
and Havana, and arrange the terms and
| time of evacuation of Porto Rico and Cuba
The Spaniards will be hurried out of Porto
Rico as fast as possible. but as there are six
or eight weeks more of the unhealthy sea-
son in Cuba, our representatives on thu
Commission are not likely to object to the
Spaniards taking all the time they want to
leave there.
/