Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1899-10-19
WASHINGTON LETTER.
from our Regular Correspondent.)
WASHINGTON, Oct. 10th. 1899

Secretary Root finds much to
please him just now. The military
movements in the Philippines dur
ing the last few days, which are
preliminary to the general cam
paign, have all been successful,
Notwithstanding the bad condition
of the ground after the long rainy
season. In every case, the object
sought was obtained. Secretary
Root thinks this the beginning of
the end, and that long before the
close of the dry season there will
be no armed bodies of Filipinos on
the island of Lnzon, and no diff
culties are anticipated on any of
the other islands. Everybody now
looks forward to the early pacifca-
ton of the Philippines. Another
thing that pleased Secretary Root
was the telegram from Havana
stating that the taking of the Cuban
census was started to-day on
schedule time and that everything
has been arranged for it's early
completion.
Gen. Shafter was to-day retired
as a Brigadier General of the
regular army, but his management
OF affairs at San Francisco, where
he has charge of the shipping of all
troops to the Philippines, has been
so efficient that he will be retained
in the service as Major General
OF Volunteers, as long as his SER
vices are required. Gen Shafter
was retired under the age limit law,
which gave the war department no
discretion, to-day being his sixty
fourth birthday.
Ten army chaplains have been
ordered to the Philippines by the
War Department, to assist the
eight who are already over there,
in looking after the spiritual well
fare of the soldiers.
Senator Hayward, of Nebraska,
who is in Washington, and who
is thoroughly posted on the politi-
cal situation in the state, says he
is satisfied that the Republicans
will win, although Mr.. Bryan is
making greater effort to prevent it
than he did to carry the state for
himself in '96. Speaking of the
National outlook, Senator Hay
ward said: 'T regard the renomi-
nation of Mr.. Bryan as absolutely
certain, and his defeat as inevi-
table. He can't get the prosperous
citizens of the West excited over
as dead an issue as free silver is.
Nor can he gain any capital by his
stand upon the Philippine question,
though it is rather difficult to learn
just where he does stand on that
subject. At all events, he won't be
able to get electoral votes of his
own state next year, and outside of
the South, the voters everywhere
will record themselves overwhelm-
ingly for his Republican oppo-
nent.'
The settlement for the time Of
the Alaska boundary dispute, by
Canada's acceptance of the tempor-
AIRY boundary line sometime ago
agreed upon by Secretary Hay and
GreatBritain's diplomatic represen-
tative in Washington, is a great
diplomatic triumph for this admin
istration. The temporary boundary
line gives Canada neither a port,
nor an outlet on the Lynn canal,
both of which Sir Wilfrid Laurier
recently said it must have or there
would be war.
The war between Great Britain
and the Transvaal republic will be
likely to prove decidedly profitable
to this country, as our neutrality
will not prevent our selling supplies
to both, excepting, of course, arms
and munitions of war. Our peace
commerce with the Transvaal-last
year the total was slightly under
50, 200, ,OOO-is so small that it's
loss will not be seriously felt. This
government will be strictly neutral
in the war, and our consular Of
ficers in South Africa will return
the courtesy extended to us by
British consult in Cuba, during the
war with Spain, by looking after
the interests Of British citizens in
South Africa as long as the war
lasts. In assuming this task our
government gave the strongest pos
sible pledge Of its maintenance of
neutrality, although the Democrats
are pretending otherwise, with the
hope of affecting German votes in
Ohio and elsewhere.