Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1899-04-14
WASHINGTON LETTER.
1rrom our Regular Correspondent

llOnS VII tiO AolahNo, ""N NV
oft is widely different from THAI
when has been obtained from other
sources. Gen. Breckenridge is strong
ly of the opinion that Gomez Is not to
be trusted. He thinks that Gomez IS
the most dangerous enemy the u. ..
has in Cuba; that his turbulent nature
fits hlm for participation in reyolu'
tions. but not to assist IN the establish
ment of peaceful government, and
has waIned the President Of the dan
GER of allowing him to get control IN
Cuba. He also told the President that
things were not being conducted I'M
der our military government in Cuba,
in a manner to accuston the Cubans
to free government; that 1t was
serious mistake TO allow distastetul
Spanish laws to remain in force over
there. in addition to our military laws.
He doubts whether Cuba can lave
free government of its own, because
he believes that as soon as our mill
tary government is withdrawn, Gomez
and his followers will establish Mill
tary government that will be as much
Of despotism as Spain ever man
tanned over the island. Of Porto Rico
he says that the people are disposed
TO be contented, but that the serious
drawbacks to industry, owing to the
closing of the markets of Spain for
Porto Rican products and the failure
to open our own to them, haYe al
ready resulted in distress and an
alarming increase of briganda5e, and
that things will soon grow worse II
means are not found to provide en-
ployment for the islanders. The
President is pOwerless to act IN this
matter. 1t will require action OF
Congress to open our markets to Por-
to Rican products. The President
is deeply impressed by Gen. Brecken-
ridges information, and has had sew
eral extended conferences with him
to talk the at.er over.
Several occurrences during the last
three or four days have been calcu'
lated to convince the public that our
authorities both in Manila and in
Washington, do not consider that the
Philippine question was taken out OF
the critical field by the successful cam
pagn of Gen. Otis against Aguin-
aldo. Among them was cablegram
fom Admiral Dewey, asking that
six months engineering supplies for
his feet be sent to Manila at once,
and Secretary Longs reply, in the
name of the President, to a request
from Washington committee, that
Dewey be ordered home in time to
participate in the Peace Jubilee, TO
be held May 22-26 at the National
Capital. Secretary Long frankly
told the Committee that the President
considered affairs in the Philippines
to be in too critical stage to order
Dewey home.
The President and Secretary Long
have chosen the following names for
the warshi0s authorized by the last
Congress; NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
New Jersey and Georgia; Armored
crusers-West Virginia, Nebraska,
and California; cruisers Denver,
DesNoines, Chattanooga, Galveston,
Tacoma, and Cleveland.
Gen. Joseph Wheeler has not been
better pleased in a long time than he
was when he left the White House
with a Committee of ladies he had
escorted there, for the purpose Of
extending an invitation to President
Mckinley to attend the encampment
ofex-C onfederates to be held at Falls
Church, Va, practically suburb of
Washington, June I and S next. The
President promised to attend the en-
campment and to deliver an address,
unless something should occur to pre-
vent his doing so. He also took oc-
casion to thank the women of the
S ,uthem societies for doing so much
towards emphasizing the good feeling
existing between the North and the
South. Gen. Wheeler has been
smiling ever since and, Ii 1t were
possible, he admires the President
more than ever.
The Military Court of Inquiry, af-
ter deliberating over it for two or
three days, decided to accede to tie
request OF Gen. Miles, that the official
reports l47 officers, from Bligadi'r
Generals to Lieutenants, on the beef
issued to soldiers in Cuba and Porto
Rico be admitted as testimony, but
adhered to his first decision, not TO
summon those among 1871 witnesses
Gen. Miles submitted whose lesti.
mony would merely coToborate that
already given by others. This is
taken to indicate that the Court