The Wadsworth dispatch. [volume] (Wadsworth, Nev.) 1892-1899, 1898-04-09
Washington Letter.
From Our Regular Correspondent.

PRESIDENT now recognizes the nevitable
that war with Spain is only question
of days. He went as far as his own
views or the overwhelming sentiment OF
the country would permit when he gave
Spain an opportunity to escape war by
recognizing the independence of Cuba.
This opportunity the Government of
Spain chose to decline. The diplomatic
correspondence with Spain, about to be
lali before Congress, reflects credit upon
the President, as an official, as a man,
and as patriot, and shows that he has
not at any time deviated from the policy
adopted in the beginning and outlined
in his annual message to Congress last
Decem mberintervention if Spain did not
bring about peace in Cuba.
Although there are still few persons
in Washington who are advocating a
continuance of diplomatic efforts to
avoid war, and more outside who are
trying to influence Senators and Rep
resentatives By wire to do nothing, thefe
isn't the shadow of a doubt that Con-
gress, the sentiment of which is prac-
tically unana nious, will this week, almost
certainly within the next three days,
take action that will make war certain.
The administration is arranging every
thing with that expectation, in order to
be able to start the fighting with vigor.
Everything around tire Government
departments is already on a war footing !;
no Information as to the movements of
troops or the contemplated movement
OF ships is now given out, and beginning
with yesterday no outsiders are allowed
to visit the Washington Navy Yards
without pass. All OF our ships have
been placed under emergency orders.
Congress is thoroughly in the fighting
humor, and, in addition to adopting the
legislation that will make war unavoid-
able, it will this week pass the legisla-
ton that will furnish the Government
with the money that will be needed to
carry on the war. The probabilities are
that the money will be raised by spec
ial taxes, instead OF by an issue of
bonds. There is very decided prejud-
ice against an issue of bonds, if it can 0
avoided.
The Spaniards do not live up to the
maxim that lie well stuck to can often
be made to pass for the truth. they
lied glibly enough in their report de-
claring the Maine to have been blown
up iron the inside, but they so far MT
elected to stick to the lie that they have
actually been trying to make it appear
that the Maine was blown up by Cub
ans, thus admitting the iaIsity OF their
own official report. The Spanish minis
ter made public the affidavit OF New
York Inventor Of explosives. in which
he says he WAS called on by number of
membe of the Cuban Junta who were
greatly interested in the powerful ex-
plosives, he had invented, and endeav-
ored without ing so in so many
words to leave the impression that the
Cuban Junta had the Maine blown up.
The official reference to the Maine in
Spains long communication to this
Government was unsatisfactory, not to
say positively insulting. The President
in his message to Congress last week
said that he trusted in Spain's honor
and sense of ustlce-undiscovered quail
ties ior the proper response to the re-
port OF the Maine court OF inquiry. He
trusted in vain. Spain referred to the
loss of the Maine as an occurrence"
and suggested that it could be sub
mitted to arbitration, and expressed
neither regret nor special interest i'll the
matter, thereby displaying a lack of
wisdom and adding to the anti-Spanish
feeling in Congress, and the idea that
the treacherous blowing up of the
Maine furnished sufficient cause of
war.
The action of'the House in increasing
the numbe OF torpedo boats and torpedo
boat destroyers provided for i'll the
appropriation bill from six Of each to
twelve OF each is generally commended,
although no one has any idea that they
can be built in time to take any part i'll
the war with Spain. 1t is simply that
the existing situation has convinced
nearly everybody OF the necessity OF our
being always prepared to defend our
selves against possible foreign tnemy.
Representative Lorimer, of Illinois,
voiced the sentiment OF many men in