The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-09-08
MILES TALKING.



men, or of Withholding the assault if in his
judgment such an assault would fail.
mo greater discretion was ever given to
any general commanding an army, and,
what is more, as will be observed, he was
authorized to accept the surrender, which,
in the interest of his subordinates, he gen
erously declined to do and went away,
leaving all the honor to his next in rank,
General Shafter.
"On the morning succeeding the first in
terview a letter was received from General
Toral, of which the following is a literal
translation:
Santiago de Cuba, July H.-General-in-
chief of the American forces:
Honored Sir-His Excellency, the gen
eral-in-chief of the army of Cuba, tele-
graphs from Havana yesterday at p. m.
the following: believing the business Of
such Importance as the capitulation of that
place to be known and decided upon by the
government of his Majesty l give you no.
tice that have sent the conditions of your
telegram, asking an immediate answer and
enabling you also to show this to the gen
eral of the American army, to see if he will
agree to await the answer of the govern
ment, which cannot be as soon as the time
which he has decided, as communication by
way of Bermuda is more slow than by Key
West. In the meanwhile, your Honor and
the general of the American army may
agree upon capitulation upon the basis of
repatriation (returning to Spain')
~ have the honor to transmit this to
you that in case you may consider the fore
going satisfactory that he may designate
persons In representation of himself, who,
xy;fa ~.
clause of capitulation on the basis of re-
turning to Spain. accepted already in the
beginning by the general-in-chief of this
army. Awaiting a reply, 1 am, very re-
spectfully. your servant
JOSE TORAL, etc.
TORAL's SURPRISING OFFER.
"At the meeting on the following day Gen.
Toral stated that he was ready to surrender
with the approval of the captain general of
Cuba, but it would require a little time to
have his acts confirmed by the home gov
eminent; that in the meantime he was pre-
pared TO appoint commissioners to arrange
the clauses of capitulation. Not only this,
he offered to surrender the rest of his COM
mand, which had not been under fire dur
ing the campaign. This remarkable offer
was on his motion. and was in the nature of
ent. However, at the conference of the day
previous, General Miles had reminded him
that he had been rendered the most liberal
terms ever offered to an enemy, that his
fleet was destroyed, and that they were
three thousand miles from home. Torars
offer could be accounte ed for in one of two
ways-either that the troops were wanted
at home to meet a threatened revolution, or
tO Af md -1n1
this as the only means of doing so at the
expense of the United States. Whether
Blanco and the rest of the Spanish forces
in Cuba would have surrendered on the
same terms is not now and perhaps may
never be known.
THE place OF landing the Porto Rico ex-
petition had been SO thoroughly advertised
in communications sent over the French
cable and in the newspapers of our own
country and telesraphed to Madrid and
from there to San Juan that, not having re-
ceived the necessary appliances with which
to disembark, General Miles decided. after
leaving the Windward passage, to change
his course and land on the south side of
Porto Rico, where the Spaniards were the
least prepared and the least expecting TO
receive HIM, and where he knew that the
could be most easily effected. From the
time of that Decentralization during the fol-
lowing nineteen days of the campaign he
kept the Spaniards guessing what the next
move would be. When they withdrew along
the line of the great military road between
Ponce and San Juan they destroyed the
bridges. INSTRUCTED the roads and fortified
strong positions in the mountain passage,
nd
of his army sweeping around the west
end Of the island, capturing the principal
cities and towns, while another had passed
over the mountains on the trail which the
Spaniards had supposed impossible, and
therefore had not fortified or guarded it,
and the first they knew of the march of
the American amy was the appearance of
a strong brigade within twenty miles of the
northern coast at the terminus of the rail-
road connecting San Juan with Aricebo
The Island OF Porto Rico was fairly won
by the right of conquest and has become
a part OF the United States The sentiment
of the people was in no sense outraged by
invaders, but, on the contrary, was sue
cessful!y propitiated. A people who have
endured the severity of Spanish rule for
four centuries nail with JOY the protection
OF the great hCpuDIC. one OF lDe flCneSt
sections of the country over which our flag
now floats has been added and will be OF
lasting value to our Nation politically, COM
mercially and from a military or strategic
point of view. Possession of that island has
also rendered any further resistance of the
Spanish forces in Cuba hopeless ana Gen.
Miles firmly believes that by fair and just
treatment the people of Cuba can be as
easily controlled, either as a friendly ally
and neighbor or 10 become a part of our
own country, as the people OF Porto Rico.
General Miles remained in Porto Rico as
long as he deemed his presence necessary
for carrying out the wishes of the Presi-
dent, and now returns TO tie United States,
bringing with him nearly 500 men VINO are
no longer required, there being some 1900
still remaining amply sufficient for all pur-
poses. He returns at once to Washington,
where he believes he can be most useful,
as ne considers the most important need
of the hour now to be the immediate re-
duction of war expenses and the return
of as large a portion OF those in the mill
tary service as possible to their former oc-
equations, where they are most needed"
John D. Welman of New Albany, was to-
day elected president of the New Albany
Belt and Terminal Company. which passed
into the hands of the Louisville, Evansville