The times., 1898-11-02
WEDNESDAY. NOVEMBER 2, 1893.
The philippine Bond Deal Dead.

The Times has had to perform a
duty that properly belonged to those
newspapers that profess to be the es-
pecial champions of the President,
which they fail to protect, by time
ly warnings, from the Vaccinations oil
perfidious friends. 1t required no great
nowers of penetration to discover the
motives of the intimates of the Admin
istration who sent their agents to Parls
TO promote the bond swindie. 1t called
for no particular courage for The Times
to expose and thereby defeat the un-
halIowed scheme-certainly no such
courage as would be necessary IN
newspaper that fosters the favor OF
party leaders There was a show of
reason in the report of Spain's demand
that she should be relieved of the Gu
ban debt of some hundreds of millions;
but when she abandoned this without
threat of breaking up the conference.
in consideration of our assuming the
comparatively small Philippine debt,
which does not mature for many years
after Sagasta will be reduced to dust
and the present young king will be in
the strength of middle age, it was all
suspicious. Even if there were secret
understanding that there should be a
money payment to Spain, the bond en-
gagement remained inexplicable. For
why should a bankrupt nation, with an
Indebtedness of more than seven hun
dred million dollars. throw up every
thing in despair and the dynasty COM
nit suicide, over a question of only
forty million dollars of bonds not due
for thirty-nine years, now passed out
of the hands of the government and the
people and owned, in fact or on op-
ton, by detested Americans? She
might, in reason, stand out for money,
but why should the American accept
ance of the little Indebtedness cut so
vast a figure?
absurdity of the whole business; and
TO expose that is to defeat the deal.
Although it is many days since The
Times pointed out the plain evidence
OF conspiracy to secure the American
assumption of this debt, not for the
benefit of Spain, but of the American
speculators who hold the bonds; and
although the dispatches from Paris an
nounced that on Monday-the first
great day of actual business in the
formal session-the demand would be
made for all the Philippines, there has
been a significant silence on the part of
the Administration newspapers. Yet
the event of Monday was surely of the
sravest Importance The resolutions of
Republican conventions have been al
most riotous in demanding all these ISL
ands, and they have been applauded
by the party press; but until this
memorable Monday 1t was uncertain
whether these hopes would be realized.
On that day the demand was made, but
there is still no word of editorial re-
3oicing or comment of any kind in Ad-
ministration journals, but only a silence
that is ominous. This, Mr.. President,
is because the hoped-for demand is as
ISOLATED with a promise to take up the
Philippine debt. The Republican news
papers know what that means.
From their silence the Administration
may and must infer that, however gen.
erous the Senate may be toward Spain,
it will never consent to enrich the bond
sharks as an artificial and insincere as
well as absurd condition of treaty OF
peace. The American people may ap-
prove Of the payment of even a large