The San Francisco call., 1898-05-03

 of Manila, destroyed by Commo- dore Dewey's guns, would have to be rebuilt and strengthened, and the Pacific fleet of the United States would have to be made even more powerful than that maintained in the Atlantic.
 Should the islands be transferred to any other power, fresh compli- cations would arise. They could not be given to Japan without in- curing the disfavor of Russia, at least, and probably of other Euro- pean powers. They could not be transferred to Great Britain or any other European power without bringing about complications of the gravest character, and, perhaps, endangering general European war.
 The Government may be compelled to hold on to the islands in the inter ests of the peace of the world. What ever may finally be done, the islands must be held until the end of the war, and in the meantime obligations rest upon the United States which cannot be avoided. Order must be main tained. The natives cannot be allowed to wreak vengeance on the Spanish residents when the Government of Spain is no longer able to afford them protection. Whether Commodore Dewey, with the force at his disposal, will be able to enforce order, is question which is causing some anx- iety here He had in his squadron nearly two thousand men. How many of these have been killed and wound ed is not known. He will have to re- tain enough men on his ships to keep them ready for action, and i. is not probable that he could land, even temporarily, more than 1000 or 1900 men. As the natives are favorably disposed toward the United States, the task of controlling them may not be as difficult as is feared. Senor Quesada, the Cuban representative here, received a letter from one of the leaders of the insurrection some months ago saying they wanted United States protectorate in the. islands.
 Commodore Dewey's defeat of the Spanish will give him prestige among the insurgents that will tend to give authority to his small force. The Spanish force in the Philippines is understood to be about 5000 men, and it may be necessary to reinforce Commodore Dewey's command by sending him some soldiers.
 There has been some talk to-day about dispatching several transports to the islands with a considerable force of men, but nothing definite will be determined as to this until complete special reports as to the con- ditions existing and the necessities of the situation have been received. There is little doubt that the cruiser Charleston will be sent to Manila as soon as she is put into commission, which will probably be within few days if the necessary men can be found to man her.
 Among members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the House Committee on Foreign Af- fairs there is a disposition at present not to discuss the probable future of the islands, because it is matter with which they will possibly have to deal, but which they have up to the present time considered only super ficially.
 Senator Lodge said to me to-day that he thought it would be 8 good thing for the United States to keep the islands, for the present, at any rate. He did not see that the European powers would have any right to ob- ject, even if we should determine to keep them permanently. Some other members of the committee believe the best course might be to turn the islands over to some European power in return for a monetary or other suitable compensation, retaining a coaling station, however, for use in emergencies.
 Representative Williams of Mis- sissippi, one of the members of the House committee, said this evening he did not think the United States wanted to retain the islands. He thought they might be sold to some European nation, probably Great Britain, for enough to materially aid in paying the expenses of the war.
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 The Rogers at Charleston.