The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1898-12-29
1T Will Be RATIFIED
No Doubt Of the Decision on
Peace Treaty.
ACCORDING TO CLARK HOWELL
Tho Real Contest ON the Ouestton nj
Expansion Will Come Later-A
Proposed Resolution.

New York. Dec. 23.-Clark Howell,
member of the Democratic national
committee from Georgia, and editor of
the Atlanta Constitution, after consult
ing with the leaders of both political
parties at Washington. telegraphed az
follows to his paper tonight:
With the adjournment of congress
for the holidays the final decision ON
the peace treaty is as clear as it will be
after vote has been taken in the SEN
ate. Two weeks ago the matter was in
doubt-today 1t is as certain that the
treaty will be ratified as it will be that
it has been after the vote has been
taken.
"Mr. Bryan has been in Washington
fol several days, and has conferred fire.
quently with the Democratic leaders
in both the senate and the house. He
has advised ratification of the treaty.
and he is outspoken in the opinion that
aside from the qeustion of national OBJ
legation, it is matter of party policy
for the Democrats to throw no obstacle
In the way of ratification. There are
leading Democrats of both the senate
and the house who less than week ago
were in doubt as to whether or not
Democrats should assist in ratifying the
treaty; more than that, some of them
were outspoken in the opinion that it
was perhaps better to reject it. Today,
many OF these Democratic leaders take
the open position that the treaty
should be ratified, and that it will be,
no one who has studied the situation
from the inside can have any reasona-
BILE doubt.
1t must not be understood that the
ratification of the treaty will carry with
it the assumption that all those who
vote affirmatively are in favor of ma
tional expansion across the Pacific. OF
the senators who will vote in favor of
the treaty there Will be Republicans as
we'll as Democrats who are opposed in
principle, as we'll as in theory, to the
trans-Oceanic expansion of our national
domain. They take, however, and very
properly, the view that the question of
expansion per Sc is not involved in the
consideration of the peace treaty, and
that after the treaty has been ratified
with Spain and has been eliminated as
factor in the Philippine problem, it
will be time enough to consider the
policy to be pursued in dealing with
the Philippines, and just here will
come the real contest on the question
of expansion"
Mr.. Howell then says that after the
treaty has been finally disposed of, a
resolution will be introduced, making
declaration of the proposed policy of
this government in dealing with the
Philippines, and that this resolution
will be framed very much on the basis
of the Cuban resolution adopted coinci-
dent with the declaration of war, in
which it was declared chat the policy
of this government would be to give the
people of Cuba free and independent
government of their own. Mr.. Howell
further says:
"The vote on this proposed resolu-
ton will Eot be confined by any means
to party lines, and the outcome is in
doubt. A large majority OF the DEM
ocrats will vote in favor OF it, and
large majority of the Republicans will
vote against it. but the size OF either
minority is sufficiently involved IN
doubt as to render exceedingly ques-
tionable the final action that will be
taken on the resolution"