The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-08-11

WASHINGTON, Aug. 10.-The pre-
liminary negotiations looking toward
the confirmation of peace advanced
long step today when the secretary of
state and the French ambassador
agreed upon the terms upon which fu-
ture negotiations for treaty are to
be conducted, and reduced those to the
form of a protocol. This protocol, it is
true, is yet to be signed, and is to be
submitted to the Spanish government
before the formal signatures are affiX-
ed, but the administration view as TO
the progress made today was set out
In Secretary Days sentence:
ut is expected that this protocol will
be executed
There is always the possibility in
dealing with the Spanish government
that it may recede at the last moment
from an implied agreement, but 1t is
scarcely probable that it would be will
ing to involve the French ambassador
in the difficulties that would follow
what to the world would seem to be
a reputation of his benevolent efforts
in behalf of Spain.
There must be a delay-possibly from
lNSAiAy- -lOQI " HOuTS"DS-
fore the next step can be taken and
the protocol made binding upon both
the United States and Spain by the
attachment of the signatures of the
plenipoten tentiaries-Secretary Day, for
the United States, and M. Cambon for
Spain. The delay will be largely at
tributable to physical causes. The pro-
tocol is long; it must be translated and
turned back and forth into code and
simple language, no less than five times
before it reaches Madrid through the
French foreign Office. This work was
not begun until late this afternoon, af-
ter it had consumed the best energies
of Assistant Secretary Adee, of the
state department, and M. Thlebaut, sec
retary of the French embassy, in the
preparation in formal shape of thf,
two copies of the protocoEone in Eng
lish and one in French. These were
prepared very carefully, the idiomatic
variance in the two languages neces-
stating the greatest caution in order
that the identical character of the two
copies be preserved. The length of the
protocol imposes a great amount of
labor upon the cipher clerks, or who
dering the original into cipher so thar
altogether it is apparent the consump-
tion of time involved in purely me-
chanical functions will be so consid-
cradle as to make the rendition Of a
very early answer improbable.
PROTOCOLS TERMS.
AS to the character of the protocol
1t can be stated on authority that the
terms are in all pratical points those
set out in the abstract of the presi-
dents conditions published from the
White house week ago. From this
fact it is deduced that the extra con-
ditions or qualifications sought to be
imposed by the Spanish government
were abandoned, at least in large part,
by the French ambassador. This deduc-
tion is supported by the circumstance
that in the early morning, and before
the conference between Secretary Day
and NJ. Cambon, which resulted in the
agreement, there was a prevalent i'm
preston, based upon the utterances Of
public men who had talked with the
president, that the Spanish answer
was unsatisfactory and that the nego-
tiations looked as if they might ter
inmate suddenly. AS this situation
changed so suddenly after the confer
ence, it may be fairly assumed that the
ambassador abandoned the conditions
which the president was reputed to
have regarded as unsatisfactory 1t is
believed that the protocol carries with
In itself provision for the cessation of
hostilities. On this point the naval
contingent is urgent that our govern
ment adopt the Napoleonic policy of
refusing to enter into an armistice
without acquiring some substantial
place to secure the consummation of
peace. What they particularly desire
is that our government shall demand
as a condition of the cessation of hos
tilfties the surrender to the United
States military forces of Morro castle.
at the entrance of Havana harbor, and
some such points of vantage at the