The age-herald., 1898-09-08
Miles Did the Talking

SNAhNd dilu lHe OlilGeTS OL IS- turning from this conference dispatch was received by General Miles from
 Washington, follows
 Major General Miles: You may accept surrender by granting parole to officers and men, the officers reta ming theic s.de arms, the officers and men after parole to be permitted to return to Spain, the United States assisting. If not accepted, then as- sault, unless in your judgment an assault would fail Consult with Sampson and pursue such course as to the assault as you jointly agree upon. Matter should be settled promptly
 ("Signed)
 "R. A. ALGER, ''Secretary of War;" Charged With Responsibility
 "This," the statement says, does not look as if General Miles was there as a visitor. He was charged with responsi- bility of ordering an assault upon the en- trenchments and Notifications of an army, which, if successful, would have cost at least 5,000 or by withholding the assault. if in his judgment such assault would fail.
 "No 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 fin rank, General Shafter.''
 On the morning succeeding the first in- terview, letter was received from Gen eral Toral. of which the following is lit. eral translation:
 "Santiago de Cuba, July IA, 1898.
 "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 impor- tance as the equalization of that place to be known and decided upon by the govern ment of his majesty, give you notice that I have sent the conditions of your telegram, asking an immediate answer and enabling you also to show the general of the Ameri- ca Army to see if he will agree to await the answer of the government. which can not be as soon the time which he has decided, as communication by way of Der muda is more slow than by Key West. In the meantime, your honor and the general Of the American Army may agree upon equalization on the basis of repatriation returning to Spain). I have the honor to transmit this to you, that in case you
 may consider the foregoing satisfactory, that he may designate persons in repre- sentation of himself who, with those in
 my names may agree to the clause of the equalization on the basis of returning to Spain. accepted already in the beginning by the general in chief of this army Awaiting reply, am very respectfully your servant, JOSE TORAL, etc." Offered to Surrender
 "At the meeting on the following day. General Toral stated that he was prepared to surrender with the approval of the Cap tain General of Cuba, but it would require a little time to have his acts confirmed by the home government; that in the mean : time he was prepared to appoint commits sioners to arrange the clauses of capitula- tion. Not only this, he offered to surren- der the balance of his command, which had not been under fire during the cam | paign. The remarkable offer was on his | motion and was in the nature of surprise to the American generals present. How l ever, at the conference of the day previous, ! General Miles had reminded him that he l had been rendered the most liberal terms | ever offered to an enemy; that his fleet was l destroyed and that they were 5000 miles l from home. Torals offer could be ac- l counted for in one of two ways-either that l the troops were wanted at home to meet a l threatened revolution or that they wanted 1 to get home and regarded this as the only l of a the 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. | Landed on South Side
 "The place of landing the Porto Rican ex- l petition had been so thoroughly advertised | in communicate sent over the French ca-
 ble and in the newspapers of our own coun-
 try and telegraphed to Madrid. and from 1 there to San Juan, that not having received | the necessary appliances with which to dis
 embark, General Miles decided after leav- l ing the Windward Passage to change his
 course and land on the south side of Porto Rico, where the Spaniards were the least
 prepared and least expecting to receive him
 and where he knew that the disembarka-
 ton of the troops and supplies could be
 most easily effected. From the time of trai | disembarkation, during the following nine. | teen 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, obstructed the roads and fortified
 strong positions in the mountain passage and then were surprised that one column
 of his army was sweeping around. the west
 end of the island capturing the principal
 cities and towns, while another had passed
 over the mountains on the road which the
 Spaniards had supposed impossible, and l therefore had not fortied or guarded it. and 6.st lrraax a of 1he