Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1898-07-29
rived at NJ, csmnon would then be IN

conference ana Tor Il iiHal answer from
the United States government. Before
| the call closed brief official mem
| orandum was agreed upon, in order
/ TO set at rest misleading conjecture
and to give TO the public information
en- subject which had advanced be-
You'd the point where diplomatic re-
serve was essential.
| Reply May Ee Prompt.
| When the president will submit the
Spanish proposition to the cabinet has
not yet been announced. The call of
| the ambassador was two hours after
the cabinet meeting Of Tuesday had
closed, and there will not be another
| regular cabinet meeting until Friday.
| III is generally understood, however,
that special cabinet meeting will
| be held in order TO make prompt re-
/ ply to the proposition. Secretary
Long arrived al the white house short
| ly after the French ambassador had
departed and lad talk with the
president, during which the Spanish
proposal was gone over briefly. Mr..
Long said afterwards that ii was an
/ initial move, bat in reply to inquiries
as to whether it was likely IL bring a
| speedy cessation Of hostiiities he ex-
pressed some doubt. saying that 10 de-
cision on the points involved had been
reached thus far.
| Speculation az to Terms.
| Naturally the plea of Spain to open
peace negotiations opens up wide
field of conjecture on what the terms
of peace Will be. Thus far there is no
official warrant for saying what terms
Spain will propose or what terms the
United States will offer or accept.
So far as this country is concerned
II is the general impression that the
! complete evacuation of Cuba and
I, Puerto Rice will be insisted upon as
! sine qua non. There is not the same
certainty as to the Philippines. La
drones and Carolines, although the be-
lief is growing that the terms of the
United States will include coaling sta
tons in these groups. On the part of
Spain ii is believed that she now has
reached such realization eff her mis-
fortune that she will readily consent
to terms for the evacuation of Cuba
and probably Puerto Rico. The Span
ish desire is very strong for the reten-
! ton of the Philippines, although there
is little doubt that coaling stations
there and 1T other points will be con-
coded. The matter of war indemnity
is for future consideration, although
there Goes not appear to be DISPOSE
ton among the officials here to pile
UP a heavy war indemnity against
Spain in her present helpless condi-
ton.
Talked 1t Over.
During the late afternoon and even
ing the president conferred with most
of the members of the cabinet, and the
Spanish proposition was thoroughly
canvassed. Secretaries Day, Alger and
Long were at the white house during
the afternoon, and in the evening the
president was joined by Secretaries
Bliss and Wilson and Postmaster-Gen-
eral Smith. There was no cabinet
meeting in the ordinary sense, but
these talks with individual members
served about the same purpose as
formal meeting. 1t was understood
the president would be prepared to
give an answer within the next few
days, and certainly before the next
regular cabinet day on Friday. No
intimation came from any official
source as to the probable character of
the answer. There were strong init
nations, however, that there would be
no acceptance which would imply the
stopping of the war when the Ameri-
can arms We're adding victories on
victories, and the embarking on a
vague diplomatic negotiation.
situation Not Materially Changed,
It was felt that this government had
everything to lose in subtle game of
diplomacy, in which the only certain
element would be the inaction of our
army and navy. For this reason there
was disposition in official quarters
to know what terms were in sight be-
fore entering upon general negotia-
tions. A prominent administration Of
fetal said after talking with cabinet
officers that in his opinion the situa-
ton was not materially changed by
the Spanish proposition and that the
war would be pressed with undated
rigor until something more tangible
IN the way of peace terms was at hand.
In case the peace negotiations are
opened the means by which they will
be carried on are not determined, nor
have they been officially considered.
1t is understood, however, that one
means likely to be proposed is to au-
thorize direct negotiations between
Spain and this country, Spain being
represented by Senior Leon Castillo,
the Spanish ambassador at Paris. and
the United States by Gen. Horace Por-
ter, our ambassador to France. Senior
Castillo is one of the foremost diplo-
mats of Europe, and since the war be-
gan his chief mission has been to 90
from capital to capital and endeavor
to awaken foreign intervention in be-
half of Spain. Failing in this he has
turned his attention to the peace
movement as the last chance for saw
ing his country. Castillo is linguist.
speaking English, SO that the negotia-
tions could proceed with facility.
While not a veteran in diplomacy.
Gen. Porter is regarded as able and
tactful, and moreover he would be
guided by very explicit instructions
from Washington. This plan is quite
tentative, however, and 1t is rather
doubtful whether the United States
government would consent to have
such important negotiations removed