The herald., 1898-04-21
An Early Start


Early in the morning the execution Of
the program for the day began with
conference between Assistant Secretary
Day. Ex-Secretary Foster and Second
Assistant Secretary Adee, in which the
wishes Of the president and the cab
anet as to the ultmatum were reduced
to diplomatic form. The other events
succeeded each other with rapidity
The ultimatum was sent to the Spanish
minister by Judge Days personal mes
eenger, Edward Savoy one of the trusted
employees Of the state department, who
was appointed to his place In 1909 py
Hamilton Fish.
The messenger was not kept waiting
long at the legation, but in the course of
an hour had returned to the state depart
ment with the minister's application for
his passports. It was not until $3.50 o'clock
this afternoon that Savoy made his Sec
ond trip, carrying with him the desired
paper. This was a passport for the min
lister, his family and suite.
At first there was some expectation at
the state department that a response
from Minister Woodford might be ex-
pected today. Later on, however, Judge
Day had calculated the length of time
that would be consumed in the cabling
of the ultimatum to Minister Woodford,
its translation into cipher and re-trans-
lation, and he became convinced that
it would be practically impossible, ow-
ing to the difference in time between
Washington and Madrid to receive any
response today. Therefore, the following
statement was posted at the depart
ment:
The IJ1tim atI1r1
y 1.-THE text of the ultimatum will be y
y given out by Mr.. Porter, secretary 4
y to the president, at the White House 4
Y some time tomorrow, probably" 4
Spain's Move Next
The next move must now be made by
Spain, according to the department Of
fcials. If the Spanish government takes
q view, as might be possibly concluded
from the action of the minister here to-
day, that in language and terms the
congressional resolution is insulting, it
may promptly hand Mr.. Woodford his
passports upon receipt of this communi-
cation, and thus bring the negotiations
to close and cause breach of diplo-
matte relations within the next twenty
four hours. If, on the other hand, it
should neglect to return a satisfactory
answer before Saturday noon, that line
Of policy will be quite as effective as a
positive act, inasmuch as it would
amount to a refusal Of the demands of
the United States. In such case the pres
adent would proceed Immediately to use
the naval and military forces of the
United States to execute the will of con-
gress.
Treatment of Neutrals
An outline of the policy to be followed
by this government in the treatment of
neutrals and the matter of privateering
Is contained in the following statement:
"In the event of hostilities be- \
n tween the United States and Spain 4
y it will be the policy of this govern 4
n ment not to resort to privateering. +
n The government will adhere to the y
y following rules: y
\ "First-A neutral flag covers car 4
y goes, with the exception of CONTRA \
band of war. \
"Second-Neutral goods not con- \
= traband of war are not liable to 4
= confiscation under the enemy's flag. \
\ "Third-Blockades in order to be 4
y binding. must be effective" ~
The Spanish Fleet
Noiu Sdiit ~ llIe navy department
today that that the Spanish cruisers
Pelayo, Vizcaya and Oquendo are all
at present a t Cape de Verde islands, in
company with the torpedo boat notlla.
Ut is realized that this constitutes most
formidable naval force, in the opinion Of
experts equal to our crack flying squad
ron now lying in Hampton Roads.
The Military Arm
The topic of absorbing interest in mil
itary circles today was the expected Ge-
clsion of the president and Secretary
Alger upon the question Of how to place
the volunteer forces at the service Of the
government. No less than three con-
sultations were held today at the White
House on this subject, but it was finally
announced that it would not be possible
to issue the expected call for volunteers
today. The district militia forces have
been offered to the government by Gen
eral Harries, and there is some eXpecta-
tion that these will be the first of the
military forces to be drawn into theIgov-
ernment service. Other events at the
war department were the return to
Washington and the report Of the ar
tillery expert who inspected the south
ern Notifications and the appointment Of