The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1898-02-13
6sSl skuss feok little Iatefsst ii
ne d Lone Iscideat.
The COURSE OF AMERICA ENDORSED.
The Spectator Thinks Mr.. Mckinley
Skouid Have Ignored the Letter.
DECIDED LACK or rIRMSEss
II what the 1'resent Administrations
stands Accused Or--Affair Caused
Excitement In Madrid.

London, February 2.--tCopyrightcJ.
1923, by Associated Press. )---De Lone in-
cident has excited little interest in Eng
land but the opinions expressed almost
unanimously lndorse the position of the
United States The daily newspapers. With
tho exception Of the Morning Post, have
adopted the view that the administration
tock the right course. The Sackyilc- West
incident naturally has been much quoted.
but 1t must be added that 1t has always
been In the most friendly terms towards
the United States.
What the Times calls "wclSlnformcd
correspondent, which probably means
scrnc one In the foreign office, writes to
that paper that In response TO the cabled
request to the United States for Lord
Saclsyillc- Vests recall, Great Britain an-
swcred that no action could be taken until
the receipt Of the language that 1t was
charged that Lord Sackvillo- West had
used. When this answer was received 1t
appears Secretary Bayafd banded Lord
Sackville- West his passports.
The weekly newspapers express the
opinion chat President Mckinney would
have done better to ignore bupuy de Lone
and the Statist opines that man better
qualified To conduct the foreign Office of
the United States than sherman would re-
fuse 10 notice De Lone. and every one
participating In the affair adding, "a
government based on popular suffrage has
TO expect free criticism"
Continuing the Statlst says il docs not
see why Mckinley, who Ia accustomed
to tle rough NJ well as the smooth of
politics" shows susceptibility and "ob-
jects TO allow foreigners the freedom he
admits in the clse of his fellow cit-
Gems"
The Spectator thinks the practical eN-
pulsion OF De Lone viii produce fresh
difficulties between Spain and America"
Continuing the Spectator says.
IF President Mckinley were wise he
would have promptly declared he would
not pay any attention whatever TO tho
purloined private letter. however genuine.
He should have publicly called on De
LONE and informed him that he does not
need his assurance that the letter was Il
forgery. the bad taste and vulearity of the
language being ample prosf of The fact
II he had had the nerve or wisdom 10 do
that he would have Immensely raised his
prestige both abroad and in his own coun-
Try. At tho game time 1t can not he
supposed that the United States fniled 10
treat the letter with the contempt ii mer-
lied. We do not Tor moment suggest
that the executive failed to ignore II be-
cause he WAS ignorant of diplomatic lsugea
or because he was not suftciently good
hammered to be Belf-restnainiug under
prcvoration. The Americana are us good
hammered as other people and her poll
ticians and officials are perfectly aware az
how Lord Salisbury orM Hanotaux wouids
have disposed of q similar letter and can
guess accurately how President Lincoln
would have treated IT,
Ut Is not a lack of manners which made
the United States government take the IN.
cident too severely. but rather the lack of
firmness which has been shown by the
present administration during Its term of
office
The Spectator is not sorry the moment
may be approaching when the United
States will Intervene TO stop the agonips
OF Cuba" adding:
Their only hope is the United Sates
stcrnly declaring that the Spanish troops
must leave and that the cuhans ne al
lowed to settle their own fate. Tina. the
United Ststes viii be morally justified IN
saying tho war must oud and that cuba
be given peace there is no doubt.
Madrid advloes show that the De Lone
affair created much suppressed excitement
there. The public comments of the diplo-
mats and the press were generally unch-
fashionable. but there was an underourfant
OF bitterness on all sides.
Even some days before tho n,ilent be-
came known there had been u particularly
nervous feeling in regard 10 the attitude