The times., 1898-10-19
WEDNESDAY. OCTOBER 10. 1898.
The Cuban Debt Question.


There are good reasons why the sig
nificant theory of the London Times re-
garding the real attitude of the Ameri-
can Peace Commission, and hence of
the Mckinley Administration. toward
the Spanish Cuban debt question, is en-
titled to careful consideration, and
probably to a considerable degree of
credence. The policy of the great Brit
ish "Thunderer'' is, on the whole,
friendly to the United States at the
present time. Its leading representa-
tives on the continent are treated al
most as having diplomatic rank and
privilege by the statesmen of Europe,
and the chief of its bureau in Paris is,
perhaps. better equipped for learning
the inside facts of the peace negotia-
tions than any other man outside of
the Commissioners themselves. He has
the advantage OF confidential relations
with the British Embassy His home
office in London is able to give him a
great deal of valuable information
derived from governmental sources. and
he is further re-enforced by the fact that
he is often favored with important con-
fidences by the Rothschilds of London
and Paris, whose facilities for obtain
ing knowledge of American as well as
Old World policies and movements are
as good as, if not better than, those pos
sessed by any government
When it is remembered that the Roth
schilds, through their connections in
this country, were actively interested
in the interests of the Spanish bondhoI-
ders. and consider that, although per-
haps indirectly, they were among the
heaviest subscribers to the Hanna cam
paign fund of 1886. ii is not hard to
understand that there could not be
much better authority than they on the
history of the peace negotiations ante
cedent to their taking the public form
given them by the first formal over
lures of NJ. Cambon in behalf of Spain.
Having all these things in mind, it is
reasonable to give weight to the words
of an institution like the London Times
believed to possess the power of pene-
tration. by way of the avenues suggest
ed into the inner councils of the Ad-
ministration.
When, then, TIE Times is told from
Paris that while the American Commits
sioners reject the idea of American SOW
ereignty in Cuba, but may be expected
to make some final concession TO Spain
in the matter of the Spanish debt, for
which the revenues of the island under
the former regime were pledged, we are
not at all prepared to assume that the
theory rests only on the Imagination of
a newspaper correspondent The
further suggestion of the London Times
that in the end the United States will
assume the Spanish six per cent debt
of 1856, which was hoated entirely for
Cuban purposes" and reject the five
per cent loan of 1890, is no doubt made
upon the strength of reliable advices
from Washington. In this connection
we have noticed with much interest that
the subject of the Spanish Cuban debt
has been actively discussed in diplo-
matte and banking circles in Paris only
since the arrival, few days ago, of
special messenger formerly in the ser
vice of Spain in this country, and
understood to bear dispatches to the
cial allies of the Hanna combination
controlling Mr.. McKinley's Spanish
policy.
People familiar with the course of the
American element. for more than two
years past engaged in a gigantic con-
spiracy to in some way saddle a part
or the whole of the Spanish Cuban debt
upon the American taxpayers, or, fail
ing in that, upon the MISREPRESENTATION
people of Cuba, need not be surprised
to see some outcome of the proceedings
at Paris such as the London Times pre-
diets. Why it should be said that we
are likely to reject the loan of 1890. pre-
sumably because it was obtained to