Middletown transcript., 1899-02-18
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From our Special Correspondent.

From our Special Correspondent.
The Senate has got to pass the Hull Army
Bill, which has been reported from the
Committee on Military Affairs, with few
minor amendments ,-or there will be an ex-
ira session of Congress Such is the ulti-
matum of President Mckinley to the com
bine OF Democratic Senators who, have un-
dertaken the job of holding up the Army
bill, and he means business. The Demo
cratic offer to compromise by authorizing
continuation ofthe regular army on war
basis for one year from next July, has been
rejected. The reorganization and increase
of the army, provided for in the Hull Bill,
is regarded as necessary by President Nc
Kinley, and he intends to have it, if not
from this Congress. then from an extra
session of the Forty-sixth Congress, to be
called Immediately after the close of the
present session. Not only are all the vol
unteers entitled under the terms of their
enlistment, to an immediate discharge as
soon as the Treaty Of Peace goes into effect,
which will be as soon as the Spanish Cortes
has ratified the treaty and copies of it have
been exchanged by representatives of Spain
and ihe US, but more than half of the reg
ulars enlisted with The same provisions
that they could claim their discharge at the
clese Of the war;
Unless Gen. Otis is mistaken, his one
weeks campaign against the Filipinos,
which was succession of victories from
start to finish, has given Aguinaldo's army
all the fighting they want-has in fact,
scattered and destroyed that army, and Civ
en- the Filipinos an object lesson on the
power Of the U. s. By the way, speaking
Of Gen. Otis, it is well to remember that the
Military Governor of the Philippines and
Commander Of the American army is Mai.
Gen. E. s. Oils. while the Commander Of
the Brigade which won such brilliant
victory at the capture of Caloocan, is Brig
adler General Harrison s. Otis, lately
well-known California editor. There has
been tendency to mix up these two offic-
ers of the same.name.
The report Of the Treasury Bureau Of
Statistics for the year ending Dec. 81, 1898,
just made public, shows that Great Britain
continues to be our best foreign customer,
Notwithstanding the steady decrease in our
purchases from the British. In 1898, we
sold goods to the value of $538, ,66l, ,7S7 to
Great Britain, an increase of $4,000 900
nv in h1n r. D..A
ain goods to the value Of Sill, 1851, ,617, a
decrease on the value of our 1897 purchas es
Of So. 100000. These figures do not make
pleasant reading for those who predicted
that the Dngley tariff would entirely de-
stroy our foreign commerce. but they
strongly vindicate protective tariff.
Gen. Eagan, whose court-martial SEN
tence of dismissal from the army was nit
igated BY the President to six years sus-
pension from duty, is likely to remain in
Washington Until the Military Court of In.
quiry called by the President, TO give Gen.
Miles an opportunity to prove his charges
that bad meat was issued to our troops in
Cuba and Porto Rico, completes its work,
as be will be an important witness before
the court. The court will meet Wednesday
and get right down to work, but it will
take sometime for it to finish its Job.
The appointment of this Court Of Inquiry
shows that instead of being disposed to act
against Gen. Miles, the President is dispos-
ed to afford him every opportunity to make
good his charges.
The substance of the report of the War
Investigating Commission was given out
as soon as the report was placed in the
Presidents hands, and an abstract ofthe re-
port, made BY direction of the President, |
has just been given to the press. Although
the report is as whole. commendatory Of
the conduct of The war. it contains numer
Gus criticisms of particular acts, which fell
short Of what they should have been. The
abstract Of the report contains every one Of |
these criticisms as well as the reasons for
making them. Il will require an Act Of
Congress to provide for any distribution Of |
printed copies Of The entire report and Of
The evidence taken BY the Commission.
In view Of the lessons or the War with